The Legend of Zelda: Crown of Continents
by Super-mega-punch
Summary: High above the clouds, Hyrule is threatened by evil once again. Link, a farm-boy living in the sanctuary of a great abbey, witnesses this evil first hand and is forced from his home into an adventure that will test the very limits of his strength as he attempts to save Hyrule once more. An original LoZ story. Rated T for violence and swearing. Please Review.
1. A Destined Boy

_Extract from the diary of Zelda Sushania Harkinian, 19_ _th_ _July X897_

'Many say that Hyrule was forged by the goddesses and is therefore blessed. Our citizens live prosperously, the earth is fertile and filled with life, the cities are bustling metropolises, the history and legends are vast and inspiring. Needless to say any other kingdom would look on in awe and envy at a civilisation built by the gods.

Is it for this reason that the greatest horrors turn their eyes towards our kingdom?

I write this with a heart overcome with sorrow, tomorrow there is little doubt that the people of Hyrule go to war against an enemy unknown. For numerous weeks now there have been disturbances within the kingdom. Every report has said something different, some say they are mere raiders and bandits, others swear they have witnessed far greater monstrosities. I believe that calling these events simply disturbances is a lapse in judgement on my father's part. I believe that these events may be the product of something far more malevolent.

This sense of foreboding, the discomfort of the animals, the barely noticeable darkening of the twilight sky. This along with the more frequent occurrences of my night terrors puts every fibre of my body on edge. I can feel it, death rides towards Hyrule.

Tomorrow father intends to ride out with the finest knights to investigate the largest and most recent attack reported in the south of Lanayru province. The messenger that arrived this morning came from Tris, the large southern port town overlooking the abyss. The woman was athletic and in her mid-twenties, she had run for three days straight to reach Castle Town. This is a feat far beyond any normal Hylian but upon speaking to the woman I understood. Unadulterated fear can give Hylians remarkable abilities in regards to strength, stamina and spirit. Her mental state told me that much however it was what she told us that had me truly concerned. She told my father of a great attack, the entire town had been razed to the ground and she was the only survivor. She then told my father much to his disbelief where the attackers came from. From the abyss, beneath the clouds.

Normally I would be unperturbed by such a tale but honestly this has only worked increase my discomfort. Father says it was just pirates that used stolen airships to fly from Eldin over the abyss to attack the town but the woman insisted otherwise. She told my father of great beasts attacking, abominations that had risen from the surface world to storm Hyrule. Father deemed her mind to be addled telling her that she was making dragons out of mere kargaroks. Still he decreed that there must be an investigation. Father will be setting of tomorrow to lead it himself, he is taking well over half the knights and almost all the airships in the Hylian navy. He must be far more concerned than he lets on.

The woman died soon after her testimony and has been buried in the great temple in the city.

I shall be spending my evening in the library below, Impa once told me stories of the surface world and their attack on Hyrule both before and after the goddesses separated it from the earth. She told me they were only legends but she also told me that all legends have an element of truth to them.

I will write again tomorrow with my findings. I just pray that my suspicions surmount to nothing.

If they do not however, will I finally meet him? Will the hero from my dreams finally be revealed?'

* * *

 **The Legend of Zelda: Crown of Continents**

 **By Super-Mega-Punch**

 **Chapter 1: A Destined Boy**

 **(...)**

A boy only in his late teens sat gazing in wonder at the sight before him. His eyes sparkled at the awesome wonder before him.

"Your reaction to this view never changes does it Link." A refined feminine voice announced from his side.

Link turned his head to the woman sat beside him, her golden hair seemed to shine against the night's sky and her soft pale skin glowed in the moonlight. Link felt his heart quicken slightly but he suppressed it. He smiled in response telling his best friend all she needed to know.

She smiled and looked on at the view that enraptured Link. Silhouetted against the sky it stood grand and proud, the enormous island hovered tranquilly in the sky connected to Lanayru mainland only by a single stone bridge. The floating island rose into a short peak upon which the great abbey of the goddesses stood, a silhouette against great full moon that hung low in the sky.

It is said that at the start of this era the three creation goddesses lifted Hyrule into the sky to save them from the surface dwellers that oppressed them. Most believed this to be just a story, many believed that a surface below the clouds could never exist but looking at the island that hosted the Abbey the tale certainly seemed possible. The island hung off the south eastern edge of Lanayru province with the only known thing below it being the great cloud layer separating Hyrule from the mythical surface. Link looked to the distant shadow behind the abbey, the province of Faron seemed to float above the clouds just like the abbey separated from Lanayru by the great bottomless chasm. The land of Faron receded as it got closer to the cloud layer before fading below. Link often thought it looked very similar to an upturned mountain, not that he had ever seen a mountain outside of books before.

Link looked to his closest friend as she sat at his side. "Hey Ysabel," Link began, "Would you tell me another one of your stories?"

Ysabel sighed and gazed at Link, meeting his sharp azure eyes with a kind smile. It was common for Link to ask such questions. Being confined on the island ahead of him, he had always revelled in her stories of the outside world. He loved the stories she told him of the Hylian Knights she had once believed to be her destiny, of the adventures that could be had in the world outside the abbey, of a life of freedom.

Ysabel returned her gaze to the sky. Link continued to watch her in anticipation. The stars reflected off her eyes. "Hmm, did I ever tell you of the Gerudo of the desert?"

"Yes, but tell me again." Link said with a certain eagerness in his voice. Ysabel felt a slight twist in her heart. She knew all too well. One day the boy beside her would leave the abbey and pursue his own life. One day he would go somewhere she could never follow. With every story she told he took one step closer to leaving her forever. The thought tore at her heart, she truly wanted to see him grow and experience new things, to spread his wings and fly high above the clouds, but at the same time, she couldn't bear to see him go. With a heavy heart and a smooth sigh she began to tell him about the Gerudo, the warrior thieves of the desert. Link listened intently taking in every detail and dreaming of the day he would set off on his own adventure.

 **(…)**

Well-worn armoured boots trod up the earthen path as they approached the quaint cottage on the hill. The knight of the abbey was on a war path and now her target was in sight. Those she had walked past her this morning were not surprised by the current irate nature of the young woman, it was common occurrence at this time of the morning they now knew to stay well out of her way as she stormed towards the small cottage that lay in the shade of the abbey.

All of them did however notice that her anger did nothing to mar her simple beauty. Most would say there was nothing hugely special about the woman's looks, her hair was always held up in a tight but elegant bun and her slim muscular body was always hidden under the layers of silver plated armour she wore when around town. Still no one could say she was not an attractive woman.

There was not a single person in town who did not know her face, yet even in such a tight knit and intimate community none would wave or greet the knight as she moved through the town. Ysabel would not even notice as people averted their gaze from her or would skirt widely around her in the street. It was not out of fear but out of disregard. None wanted to know or be a part of the woman's life for they knew of her disgrace. Before coming to the abbey Ysabel had trained for the entirety of her childhood dreaming of one day joining the Hylian Knights the greatest defence force Hyrule had ever known. A group Knights worshipped as heroes across the entire kingdom for their great and mighty deeds. She even went as far as to hide her gender to try and become one. Unfortunately on the day of her knighting her gender was revealed and she was disgraced in front of the entirety of Castle Town. A woman joining the ranks of the knights was thought of as a preposterous and an almost blasphemous idea among the people of Hyrule. This of course led to her public ridicule and exile from castle town on pain of execution. Still despite not being able to become an official knight she still wore her armour with pride and upheld the code of chivalry that had become her creed.

Everyone in the town had of course heard of her story and subconsciously outcast her not wanting to associate with a disgrace to society. The abbots within abbey had accepted her knowing of her true skill and bravery, they were unfortunately some of the only people to truly accept her and treat her as a true equal. The townsfolk were never very happy with the decision but had accepted her grudgingly at the behest of the abbots. Still there was one other friend she had here, and he was about to find out why you should never anger a knight.

Ysabel was not surprised by the fact the door to the little cottage was unlocked, the cottage was situated in slight seclusion from the nearby town that was owned by the great abbey above it. Due to the presence of the great abbey there was very rarely any crime and so no one had to take precautions against it. It was not like the townsfolk had very much to steal anyway.

And so the young woman stormed into the house and located her target sprawled on the bed in the corner of the room. His blonde matted hair lay untidily on his head which drooped to the side revealing the long line of drool that leaked from his mouth. Ysabel furrowed her eyebrows angrily, daybreak had come long over an hour ago and as usual the boy was still flat out.

She moved swiftly towards the sleeping boy. Knowing how deeply he slept, she did not have to truly sneak up on the boy and very quickly she was standing above him. Now she worked silently, more due to natural instinct than caution. She drew a small curved hunting knife from her belt and raised it slowly above the boy's bed. With a blood curdling yell she swiftly brought the knife down and embedded the blade inside the boy's mattress. This was more than enough to wake the boy up.

The instant he saw the knife the boy yelled and backed away, comically falling off the other side of the bed whilst taking half of it with him. Link looked around on high alert trying to figure out what had happened. He soon figured out what was going on. He sighed deeply a blush forming on his face as he quickly attempted to hide his modesty with the fallen bedclothes.

Ysabel grinned, her eyes lighting up as she drew her blade from the mattress and rested it on her shoulder, "Morning, Sunshine!" she said triumphantly, the satisfaction of releasing her anger was clear to see on her face.

The boy looked up at the woman, "Seriously? That's the third tear I'll have to repair this month,"

"Well then, maybe you shouldn't be such a lay about," Ysabel chastised as she paced to the table, "Once again you have overslept and are late for work, you know you have a responsibility to be there on time Link, I don't want to have to come down here again. As punishment you shall be supplying me with breakfast."

Link sighed he had known all along that this would be her ulterior motive, "You and your bottomless stomach, if I'm so late why are you making me cook for you, surely I should be running down to the fields as fast as I can?" Link said to spite her slightly. He dragged himself up and quickly pulled on a pair of breeches.

"But then where would I be able to acquire my breakfast?" She said as if seriously questioning it.

"Oh I don't know, the great big abbey outside maybe." Link said pointing at the great structure outside his window. One of the services the Abbey provided for the townsfolk was two meals a day inside the abbey's great hall. Any of the town's residents could go should they choose to and almost all of them did making it a great social gathering.

"The abbey's meals do not fit my standards. Everyone knows that ever since old Abbess Marie's arthritis got bad and she left the kitchens the cooking has not been anywhere near as good as it once was, honestly who put Abbot Eewin in charge of food." She complained taking up a chair.

"Ysabel, don't bad mouth Eewin, he's a nice guy." Link chastised.

"Link, you know I meant no disrespect. Besides I owe the men and women of the abbey my life and I love every one of them like family but that does not change the fact that Eewin simply cannot cook." She sighed, "That's why I come to you, after Marie you are clearly the best cook in town."

Link looked at her with a sharp eye, before surrendering, he knew he wasn't winning this one, "Fine, I have some eggs that need eating today give me a few minutes."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Ysabel smiled happily. Link sighed as he walked past her, Ysabel was Link's senior by five years and was normally far more mature. However, in his house and only in his house, would she reveal her true colours. Mischievous, excitable, occasionally immature but unmistakeably happier. Her smile was nowhere near as bright anywhere else as it was in Link's home.

"Don't push your luck, I'm only doing this because I owe you for training me." Link countered. Outside she was quite different very rarely showing emotion, only speaking when spoken to, she upheld an air of elegance and tranquillity that made her unapproachable to all the townsfolk. She spent most of her time behind the abbey in a small plaza where she would train in the combat she was taught in the knights academy. In the evenings she would train Link in the arts of a knight, teaching him everything from chivalry, swordsmanship and archery to writing, maths and general life skills. This service was provided only to Link because the other teenagers did not have the drive he did to succeed. It also didn't help that most of the other teenagers had set off to the capital for formal training in the Hylian military leaving the town far behind them. Link had chosen to stay behind because in truth the town needed able bodied workers and with all the young men joining the army there were very few to farm the fields.

"I see well then if this meal is good enough perhaps I'll let you spar with me again, see how much you've really improved recently."

Link visibly flinched, he felt his old bruises flare up. Spars with Ysabel were intense, they required the use of both strength of arm and strength of mind and they always ended the same way. With Link on the floor covered in many, many bruises. Ysabel was the strongest person Link had ever met. The way she fought reminded him of a hurricane, insanely strong, insanely fast and almost untouchable. It was only last year after three years of training, Link had managed to actually hit her. Despite how uncomfortable he had been at the start, Link had been improving more and more over the years. It would not be long before he stood on equal grounds with her.

His drive to reach that stage allowed him to take up the challenge with confidence despite his fear of a proper beat down, "Alright then I'll show you a new trick I figured out, I call it the spin attack." He said proudly.

"Oh, so that's what you've been working on recently? Well then, I look forward to giving it my full evaluation later today." Ysabel teased, an evil smile pulled at her lips.

"Great," Link said nervously, that really did mean he was in for a tough match, "Anyway food is ready."

Ysabel looked excited as she sidled up to the table and practically snatched the plate off the boy whose home she was invading. With a quick and courteous "Thank you," She quickly shovelled a large morsel of scrambled eggs into her mouth and melted in contentment. "In all of Hyrule there is no greater," Ysabel sighed in delight a deep rare blush flourished over her cheeks.

Link smiled, happy that she was happy, "It's only scrambled eggs, even you could make something like this, also you shouldn't speak with your mouthful." Link warned pointing his fork at Ysabel. At times like these it was hard to believe the woman in front of him had really been trained as a knight.

"No it is not just scrambled eggs, it is mana, pure mana from heaven." Ysabel claimed as she swallowed. "The goddesses do not eat as well as this."

"Ysabel, seriously you know better than to say something like that," Link said

"I know, I know," she brushed the comment off as she finished her meal practically inhaling the rest of the eggs. "Now Link, you'd best get down to fields quickly and if I catch you sleeping in again I will make your training ten times harder than normal… Also I'll have you cook for me for an entire week."

Link sighed, "Alright, Alright I'll start waking up on time," Then again would having Ysabel over for every meal be so bad, the company was nice and he had always enjoyed cooking for people other than himself, "Since I'm late would you wash the dishes before you head out,"

"Fine but only this once this is your own fault remember. Punctuality is fundamental. Anyway I'll see you tonight, don't work yourself too hard I want a real fight today." Ysabel said, her normal air of maturity returning.

"And you'll get it, I'm not going easy on you tonight. It's my turn to win."

"Tch, aren't you nearing the two hundredth loss. I don't think this will be the match you win." Ysabel taunted as Link left. "But then again, I've stopped holding back." She almost whispered, relaxing as she was once again left alone. She sighed sadly and breathed in the oaky scent of Link's home, it didn't take her long to doze off in the only place she was truly comfortable.

 **(…)**

Link walked out into the world with a wide grin on his face. The sun was warm and made the morning dew glisten on the hillside. He looked down on the town from his hill, it was small and compacted, due to the size of the abbey at the top of the hill and the limited space the floating island had between the large stone walls and the abbey. Despite this the buildings had adapted well to the space provided. Link lived halfway up the hill on which the abbey stood, it was an out of the way area that for most of the day lived in the shadow of the Abbey making it an unpopular place to live. Link however enjoyed the solitude. The town below had grown from the abbey and was therefore commonly known as Abbey town.

The town was built to house the workers who created produce for the abbey. In return for providing the resources for the abbey to survive the townsfolk got to live within the confines of the great stone walls that surrounded the island and provided protection from the outside world. The Abbey also kept the town fed and warm distributing the resources they received generously around the townsfolk. This form of society worked surprisingly well, everyone who lived in the abbey lands truly lived in near perfectly harmony.

Link began to walk down the short path into town and prepared himself for work. Link spent most of his days as a farm-hand outside the walls of the abbey, as one of the more able bodied of the residents, Link happily offered to do all kinds of jobs often involving heavy labour. He was moved around often working anywhere from repairing houses to farming to simply moving supplies from A to B. It was hard work but it was Link's way of contributing to the society.

Ysabel, although being of a similar build and strength to Link was not employed in the same way. Ysabel was employed by the Abbey as protection, she was a warrior and so spent her time training and patrolling in order to keep the town safe. She would occasionally go hunting if the town needed more meat than it was receiving via trade or farming but other than that she rarely helped out in the same way Link did.

The ground beneath Link became a cobble road, this was the main road through town that came from the main gate before winding up the hill towards the abbey. The houses down here were mostly terraced with the occasional random alley which were used as shortcuts to the abbey or the walls. Most houses hosted stalls where residents would sell food and merchandise to the visitors who stayed at the abbey. Visitors were actually very common here, pilgrims, merchants and sightseers would often visit and stay at the Inn near the main gate of the town as they passed through. On his way to work Link would always bump into the residents of the town and they would always greet the young man with a fond smile or a wave, he would return the gesture with a nod normally because he was in a rush. Today of course was no different.

Link knew from the moment ol' Joe nodded at him that Link would have another interruption on his way to work today. Unfortunately it was an inevitability and a near daily occurrence. He would have to face it like he did every day. Link stopped running in the centre of the street as he heard the sound of subtle scurrying around him. All the locals quickly got out of the way knowing exactly what was going to happen. Any visitors followed suit but had no idea that was about to occur. Link grinned, after three days off he was honestly looking forward to what they had prepared for him today.

For a moment the only sound was that of the wind brushing through Link's hair. Link took the moment to survey his surroundings. "Four of you today huh? You're going all out, aren't you Kela." Link looked up and met the hazel eyes of the twelve year old child standing on the balcony fence looking down on him. She stood confidently with a long stick in her hand, she met his gaze with a smirk. Today she would be victorious.

She raised the stick into the air and shouted "NOW!" Instantly the other three children burst from their hiding spots each of them holding homemade slingshots.

 _So that's what they were making yesterday,_ Link realised as Kela ordered them to open fire. Link tensed preparing himself, striking him from three directions was certainly cleverer than their normal ploys, this was probably Hota's idea, he looked over to the ten year old blonde knowing that his pellet would be the only one to hit him. He quickly dodged the pellet as it sailed past his face and hit the wall behind him. He then looked over to the other two children. As he predicted the overconfident Osca had overfilled his slingshot trying to show off in front of the other children all his pebbles fell to the floor only an inch away from him. Olava, the youngest of the four, had also fallen to bad luck, being only five the child did not have the strength to accurately fire the slingshot and so her pebble clattered limply at Link's foot.

Link grinned victoriously they had all missed which meant he had won their little game today. Just as he was going to celebrate he heard a whimper to the left. Little Olava had suddenly begun to tear up in defeat, Link caught on to it instantly chastising himself, he was meant to have fallen for today's trap. He swiftly moved over to Olava to try and sate the child, feeling bad that he had not let them win this time. This of course left him wide open. Kela, the oldest and the leader of the gang, leapt from the balcony raising the stick above her head, she descended on Link and with a yell swiped the stick down so it collided with Link's head with a swift 'thwak'. Olava, laughing with glee, then pulled Link's neck into a tight hug pinning him to the ground as Osca and Kela charged and jumped on his back. Hota approached but did not jump on Link like the others, he just watched as the three young children brought Link to the ground with ease.

Olava looked around Link's head at Kela excitedly, "Kela, Kela look we won! Now Link has to play with us!" she sheered happily.

"Exactly, Link we won and now you're ours for the day!" Kela roared victoriously. Olava and Osca cheered with her. Link groaned choosing not to fight back against the kids. The move they used had been underhanded but it had worked. He looked at Olava, "Why you sneaky, little," Link said as he grabbed Olava from his neck and began to tickle her whilst wriggling out from underneath the others. Olava could barely hold in her screams as Link tickled her. Osca and Kela attempted to pull Link off of Olava but were only sucked in and tickled by him too. The three of them squirmed underneath him as Hota walked to the side of the road and simply watched with the other townsfolk.

Out of the group of children Kela was the oldest at twelve and therefore the default leader. In contrast her sister, Olava, was the youngest at five. They were both the spitting images of their mother inheriting both her bright hazel eyes and deep brunette hair. Osca and Hota were both a month away from being eleven they were not brother's but the small troupe of children could certainly be called a little family of their own. Osca was currently more or less bald after being forced to shave his hair off due to head lice, Hota on the other hand had neat blonde hair and often tied it into a mature bun.

"Link, stop it pleeease!" Kela giggled. Link obliged and let the three children go as he sat back in the middle of the cobble street. The people around them had gone back to their business now the show was over. Link could not remember when this entire game had begun, it was probably when he started working in the fields. The game was fairly simple, the children would prepare a trap for Link as he walked down to work, if the trap worked and Link was caught he would be forced to play with them for the day. If it failed Link would normally end up playing with them in the evening anyway. Although Kela was the leader of the group, Link was definitely a highly ranking member being the oldest among them all at seventeen.

Olava looked at him with wide pleading eyes, "Does this mean you're going to play with us?" She asked quietly.

Link smiled softly and tussled her dark brown locks, "I'm sorry but I do have to work today."

"But you promised!" Osca complained before Kela could step in.

"I know, I know but it's going to be a really busy day today and they need me down there."

"Link is right guys, they need Link more than we do we should let him do his job." Hota said from the side. Link grinned, Hota was always the voice of reason in the group although he was often left out of games due to his lack of physical strength and his introverted nature. He was certainly the most mature out of the four and was possibly one of the brightest members of the entire town, Head Abbot Gray had said the boy could become more intelligent than even the magicians of Castle Town if he worked hard.

Link looked back at the other three with a shrug, "But I don't want Link to go!" Olava yelled jumping onto Link and wrapping her little arms around his neck, "Link has to stay with Olava!"

"Alright tell you what I'll make you a deal, I promise that I will play with you tonight. I will even try and get off work early, you have earned it." Link promised.

Olava pondered the suggestion and turned to Kela for guidance, "Fine!" Kela agreed, "But you better do whatever we say! You have to be our slave for the entire evening."

Osca nodded resolutely immediately agreeing to Kela's suggestion. Hota sighed from his corner.

Just as Link was about to agree a new voice came from above them. "Oh, won't you kids let me have a turn with Link, tis' mighty unfair to steal him every evening like you do." Link looked up to meet the old face of Head Abbot Gray. The man was nearing his one hundredth and tenth year and his face certainly showed it, his white hair was thin and patchy now and he could only see down tiny spectacles that perched on the end of his nose. The kids jumped in surprise although they didn't see him often they knew to respect the Head Abbot with the utmost curtesy.

Olava however clung to Link all the tighter. "No, you can't have him!" she grumbled. Link was turning blue from the grip of the child around his neck.

"Now, now child, I'm not here to steal him, and neither is he a treasure to be stolen, I merely wish to speak to him at some point this evening is all." The abbot explained.

The kids didn't really know what to do so turned to Link, "Alright, I'll play with you kids for a bit, then I will speak with the abbot after you kids go to bed, does that seem fair?"

The kids mused over the deal for a while before all of them silently nodded.

"Good, now I really need to get to work. Father Gray I will see you this evening and kids I will be ba…"

"NO," Olava stated, "Take me with you." She demanded.

"Olava, c'mon leave Link alone now, let's go play dragon," Kela said with a bored expression.

"Yeh, Olava you're always clinging to Link. What, do you faaancy him?!" Osca teased.

At this Olava turned bright red and tears began to form in her eyes, "NO, I do not! Y-you fancy big sis'!" she yelled, at this Kela sighed, Osca's one sided infatuation with Kela was not exactly a secret.

"Why you!" Osca yelled reaching for Olava. Link simply stood up carrying Olava out of harm's way.

Link decided he had to stop this before a fight started. "All right all of you calm down or I'll be so late that I won't have time to play after work." Everyone immediately shut up after that. Link lifted a teary Olava off of his back and placed her on the floor. "Now play nice you four, I will see you soon."

"Yes Link!" Three of them called. Link turned to Hota who nodded, Link grinned at him, his silent way of telling him to keep an eye on them. Finally free he nodded at Head abbot Gray before hearing the abbey clock chime eight. He was definitely late and so he sprinted the rest of the way to the field not wanting to be another minute late. He left the small main gate to the Great Abbey Bridge, the gate to the world outside the walls, the world he dreamed of one day travelling.

Link ran across the bridge that suspended over the abyss and looked to the land ahead. Lanayru province was huge, famed for its vast plains and rolling hills. Following the western edge of the province however where the Abbey town was situated the land was lightly forested due to Faron province being just on the other side of the chasm. Just across the bridge from the abbey were acres of farmland that brought in food for the Abbey. Nearly every fruit and vegetable that could be grown in the province was grown here inside the enormous orchards, fields and grazing lands that surrounded the Abbey Road.

For the second time that day a long stick collided with his head and Link was thrust out of his fantasies. This time however was in the form of a long hoe handle. Link sighed and turned around. Taking the hoe he looked up at the giant who had dropped it on his head. "Fris, was that really necessary?"

The giant man laughed heartily and scratched his big ginger beard "Well, me boy call it punishment for being late… again. My daughters must have got you good this time huh?"

"They sure did, I'll have a lump where Kela hit me you know." Link said rubbing his head.

"Ah, stop yer' yapping, yer made of tougher stuff than that. C'mon now let's get to work, we got mouths t' feed."

"Right," Link said arming himself with his hoe as if he was about to use it for battle. "Let's go!"

"Haha! That's the spirit!" Fris roared as the pair turned to the first field.

 **(…)**

Link wiped the sweat from his brow, it had been a long day, there were still a few hours before sunset but it was still very warm. Link looked to the abbey in the distance. Being midsummer it had been unbearably hot today, so hot Link had already removed his undershirt. Link never noticed but the women who worked on the field would often get momentarily distracted by his well-built body. He was not overly muscular by any means but his muscles were at least defined due to his hard work and training with Ysabel. He knew he would have to take a bath in the abbey before the day was through.

"Oy Link, why don't you call it there for the day, you really don't want to keep those kids waiting longer than they have to!" Fris yelled from the edge of the field.

Not feeling the need to speak Link simply waved back at him before heading off. This also happened a lot giving the children time with Link kept them out of trouble and the adults knew that. No one really said it but Link really was the best babysitter they had. He held an odd sort of respect with them that no other adult could replicate. They listened to him and followed him as if they were one of their own. Link grinned as he set off back down the road towards the Abbey. He pulled on his shirt along with his traditional red and blue waist-cloth that most townsfolk wore during the day. It would not be long before he would find the children especially since he knew exactly where they would be.

Link climbed a steep set of stairs within the walls of the town. The staircase was very thin and well worn, it was the perfect shortcut to the Abbey entrance for those who were fit enough to climb it. Roughly two hundred steps lead to the west side of the abbey where there was a huge stone plaza. Regularly dotted around the plaza were large orange trees that shaded the place from the sun. Due to the shade, seclusion and elevation of the plaza this had become the favoured place for the children to hang out during the day. That was when they did not have lessons with the abbots.

Link looked out behind him, over the town and behind the stone walls, the forested mainland stretched out for miles. He smiled calmly at the view. He turned back as he heard the shouts of the children, it hadn't taken them long at all to sense Link's arrival and were now running directly towards him.

"Link! Link! Look we're playing sky pirate!" Kela yelled holding up the stick she had hit him with just that morning. She was wearing an odd hat made from orange leaves that vaguely resembled a pirate's hat.

"Hey Link, look at my eyepatch isn't it awesome!" Osca yelled, "I am the dreaded and feared pirate Archibald one-eye! Scourge of the sky and King of the pirates!" He announced holding up his stick, "And I am here to kidnap all the children across the land, starting with you little miss."

"NOOO! Link you've got to rescue me!" Olava squealed as Osca, fairly roughly, pulled her on top of a short stone wall separating the plaza from the path that ran beside the abbey. Link grinned that was no doubt their make shift airship. Airships were a reasonably recent invention made by the Hylian royal family, they were brought into common use more recently and now nearly every merchant had at least one. Which of course meant that bandits had also managed to pilfer them. The most famous of these bandits made quite the name for himself by stealing a Goron Battleship and using it to hunt down large merchant ships. Archibald One-eye the Third. Link had heard the rumours that he was a terrifying pirate that even the royal navy feared but he knew that it did not involve him so had never indulged himself in the stories.

The kids however knew all about him and his infamous reign, this was one of their favourite games. Osca would play the bad guy, as always, and kidnap a damsel in distress, normally Olava but sometimes it was Link as well to make things interesting. Then Kela would save them, normally with Link as her sidekick if he had not already been kidnapped, Kela and Osca would then battle, fighting in a deadly duel to the death. Hota, like today, would often sit under one of the orange trees and spectate from behind a book.

Kela ran up to Osca, "You foul pirate! How dare you kidnap my sister!"

"Well if you don't like it then maybe you should come and get her, that or you can be my bride!" Osca announced. Link flinched, Osca was trying that one again.

"Ew, Osca that's weird," Kela complained.

"It's not that weird I mean you're pretty so why would someone not want to marry you." Kela's face turned red, both Link and Hota knew it was probably more due to anger than the compliment. Hota sighed from his tree and Link gave an awkward grin. Something told him that Osca was about to get the beat down of his life.

"Never! I will board your ship and slay you, you big kidnapper." Kela yelled angrily before jumping on the wall. Osca stood in between Kela and Olava and pointed his stick at his opponent smiling at the fact she had accepted his 'proposal'.

"Bring it on!" Osca went for a horizontal slice which missed its mark by miles. Kela then stepped forward with a downwards slice meant for his head. Link sighed knowing it was time for an adult to intervene. Picking up a nearby stick he launched himself over to the two sparring children and held his stick out between them. Kela's stick hit the unmoveable object. She looked at Link in utter surprise.

"Link what are you doing? You're meant to be on my side." Kela complained. Link suddenly realised he was treading in deep water now. If he full on betrayed Kela she would sulk and get moody. But if he let her continue Osca could end up getting hurt.

Thinking on his feet Link began to explain, "Well you see Kela, I was never on your side and I am not on Osca's either. I am not actually a pirate at all, I'm something far worse." Kela and Osca looked intently at Link wondering what new element he was going to bring to the game. "I am a mighty sky dragon attacking the great battleship which means you two are in big trouble. If you don't work together to fight me then I will eat you all!" Link announced before doing his best dragon impression and roaring. Everyone laughed at Link's awful impression before Olava went along with it screaming and running away from Link. Kela and Osca turned and pointed their blades at Link.

"Alright then king of the skies, we shall team up just this once to defeat the great beast ahead of us."

Osca was surprised at this but took the rare opportunity of being on Kela's side for once. Link grinned and attacked, his motions were deliberately very slow he did not want to hurt them. He slowly swiped horizontally stopping as Osca's stick hit his. Kela then attacked while Link was distracted. Link however managed to defend her blow easily. The pair began to attack again together this time. Link simply back stepped out of the way. Before they struck again, this time one went for the legs while the other struck high. Link smiled at how well they worked in unison. He chose to defend Kela's upper blow and let Osca's sword hit him. He felt no pain from the blow, he was used to far worse from Ysabel, this was nothing.

Osca cheered at is victory, "Yay, I hit Link's leg that means you have to stand on one leg now."

Link grinned, "Not quite, dragons have really hard scales don't they, a normal sword won't be able to get through and so even though you hit me it didn't do anything."

"What, that's not fair, that makes you invincible!" Osca yelled.

Link frowned, "No Osca, think differently, imagine I am a dragon then tell me what parts of my body are not covered in such hard scales."

Osca looked at Link thinking hard about it, Kela sighed in frustration, "It's the underbelly stupid. Dragons have different scales on their belly than their back, that's why the belly is a different colour."

"Oh I see, so we have to hit Link in the stomach to win." Osca realised.

"Exactly," Link said, "however that is not going to happen because I'm going to eat you first." Link attacked slowly once again. This time Kela defended while Osca attacked Link's stomach. Link just managed to avoid it by side stepping. The kids attacked again and Link took a step back to avoid their swords. But ended up stumbling on a rock. Osca took this opportunity and stabbed Link in the stomach. Link caught the stick and placed it under his arm turning to make it look like he had been stabbed. He then pulled off an overly dramatic death falling to the floor in defeat where he lay perfectly still as the two children celebrated hugging each other in victory.

Olava however ran over to Link to check if he was okay, unsure how to approach the teen she ran to his front and looked at his face. His eyes were closed but he could feel the small child's presence. Before Olava could determine whether Link was actually dead, he opened his eyes and met hers. She was bent to the side looking at him. He grinned widely and moved to grab her. She shrieked and giggling managing to escape the older boy's grasp and run away from him. Link quickly got up and chased after her.

"Oh no the dragon came back to life," Kela yelled, "C'mon Archibald one-eye we have to finish it before it gets my sister." Kela ordered as they then chased after Link.

The four of them continued to play like this for quite a while but as the sun began to set Olava got tired. Link carried her over to Hota and sat down next to him, placing the small child against the tree in between them. Kela and Osca soon came over with a small handful of oranges. They handed one to everyone including the now sleeping Olava and sat down with them munching eagerly on the fruits.

"Hey Hota, what are you reading today?" Link asked taking a peek at the book in his hand.

Without taking his eyes off the book Hota answered, "The Legend of Zelda series,"

"Oh, I liked those books, I don't know why they were called the Legend of Zelda though, surely they should be named after the hero, he did all the work." Link said.

"Well no one knew the hero's names so I don't think that would have worked. Meanwhile every princess had the same name so actually it makes perfect sense to call it the Legend of Zelda." Hota analysed.

"I didn't think of it like that, interesting." Link said thinking about the book, he had read it long ago. It was an old fairy tale that told of the various Heroes of Legend fighting of evil to protect Hyrule and the Princess of Destiny, Zelda. The abbot had recommended it to him after he had learned how to read. It had been hard work and there were a lot of words Link didn't know back then, fortunately he had had Ysabel to help him although she seemed reluctant to read it to him at first.

"I think the Hero's name was Link." Kela piped up from the other side of the tree.

"That can't be right!" Osca quickly countered, "Link isn't the name of a hero. The name should be more you know heroic,"

"Like what?" Kela asked sarcastically.

"I don't know like, Jason or Osca…r,"

"What your name? Your name isn't heroic!" Kela laughed,

"I didn't say Osca, I said Oscar," The boy complained angrily.

"Actually Osca is a pretty heroic name, Many famous Hyrulean Knights throughout the ages were named Osca." Hota inputted, "Also there is no reason to discount the name Link, in all the stories the Hero of Legend came from a humble background so he could have any name. It also never says whether he was a man it is only assumed he was, he could be called Kela or Olava for all we know."

Link looked at Hota and smiled at the boy. Hota was such a quiet kid it was easy to forget that he was far cleverer than he often let on. It would prove very useful to him in the future no doubt. Link suddenly noticed the shadows disappear as twilight fell over the world.

"Hmm, I still need to see the abbot don't I." Link thought out loud, "and your parents will want you home pretty soon,"

"Naw but we want to play more!" Kela complained.

Link sighed, "Tell you what I promise I will play with you tomorrow alright?"

At this Kela ran around the other side of the tree and stuck her pinky finger in Link's face, "Pinky promise," she said.

Link sighed and took her pinky in his, "Pinky promise,"

"Me too!" Osca yelled thrusting his pinky in his face. Link smiled at the boy and took his pinky too. He felt a light nudge and noticed that Hota also had his pinky out his face was however still buried inside his book. Link took the pinky before turning to the fourth child who was resting on his arm. He was not surprised to find that even in her half asleep state she too had her pinky held up.

Link took the final pinky and said, "Alright, I promise all of you that I will play with you tomorrow no matter what."

"Now you kids should head home. Kela would you take Olava for me," Link said, Kela nodded and took her little sister's hand guiding her and the other kids towards the stairs back down to town. Before they reached it however Olava broke off and ran back to Link hugging his legs tightly.

"A promise is a promise and a promise has to be kept or else." She said with sleepy tears in her eyes.

Link bent down to her level, "Hey, what's brought this on?" he said stroking her head slightly worried.

The little girl shook her head letting her deep brown locks shake with her. "Nothing, just promise me."

"Alright, once again I promise I will meet you in exactly the same place as normal tomorrow, just like we do every day. Just like we always will." He wiped away a tear forming on the girls eye before she nodded and turned away to follow her sister and their friends. _I'll see you kids tomorrow_ , Link thought as they watched them walk into the twilight.

With a small smile he turned towards the great abbey and made his way to the main entrance. After passing through the small town, the main road of the sky island began a gentle climb as it curved up the hill towards the main entrance of the abbey on the south side. From in front of the door you could truly tell how much the abbey dwarfed those who approached it. The abbey's exterior was grand and ornately embellished, its beauty caused many to speculate if it had really been built by human hands. Within the abbey there were many floors and almost one hundred rooms – most unused. Included in these were a large communal dining hall, baths, a library, an enormous kitchen and even a few small workshops. The building itself could quite easily be used as a small city itself however by the goddesses decree only the abbots, curates and those who sought sanctuary were allowed to live in the abbey. That did not stop the abbey from allowing the townspeople to work there however. Twice daily the main hall would be opened and food would be served to all who came, thus many townsfolk worked as cooks or waiting staff, there was also an army of cleaners who tended to know more about the abbey than even Head Abbot Gray himself.

Despite this the entrance was not at all grand, it was small in comparison to the main building and would only fit two people shoulder to shoulder. The door lead to a small entryway that lead into the much grander main chapel. Link stepped in looking around at the simplistic design, for the largest room in the Abbey it was most certainly the emptiest. It was supposedly an exact replica of the original Temple of Time with the exception of the doors that could be found in the centre of each wall. The left leading to the great hall, the right leading to the living quarters and the largest door ahead of Link led to the inner sanctum where no one was allowed to go. A single black altar lay in front of this door. Link sighed and turned to the right door, Link knew exactly where he would find the head abbot.

He climbed a short flight of stairs two at a time before coming to the second floor. He then walked over to the familiar room two doors to the left. A brass plaque above the door read 'Head Abbot Gray'. Link let himself in and sneezed upon entering, the ancient dust of the room filling his nose as it always did. He smiled at the aged musk of the room remembering all the lessons he had had from the abbot over his years here. The head abbot stood looking out of a window, the vastness of the twilight sky stretched out behind him in the distance the edge of the province of Faron was just visible behind clouds, a giant floating landmass in the sky. Link had often wondered why he chose a study on this side of the abbey and why he did not choose to look over the town instead. He had never had the opportunity to ask.

The head abbot turned revealing his weary features to Link, the candle light spread long shadows over his facial features. Link was not sure but the abbot looked like he had aged a decade since this morning.

"I see you still refuse to knock before entering." Gray chuckled hoarsely, "Honestly Link it is truly as if you haven't aged a day since I first had you in here."

Link didn't really know what to say in response but took up a chair on his side of the desk.

With an unsure whisper the abbot spoke again, "Link, do you still have dreams?"

Link flinched at this, he did. His sleep recently had been disturbed even more as of late. He could never recall what he dreamt of he just knew that they were horrifying nightmares. "Yes," he simply said not wanting to divulge his torment to the seemingly stressed old man.

"Do you know where dreams come from Link?" the Abbot continued,

"Did you once tell me that they were messages from the goddesses?" Link replied,

"Did I? I forget," Gray tapped the side of his head, "The old brain isn't functioning as well as it used too. It puts me at ease to know that there are many like you to come with minds that far outshine mine. Still Link you are correct," He concluded heavily.

"Father, are you alright? You seem out of sorts." Link asked worried as the abbot fell into his seat.

"No, I don't think I am alright Link, no don't get up Link there is something I need to tell you." The abbot said holding a shaking palm out. Link sat slowly back into his chair. "Truth is, I have been having the most disturbing dreams lately, I can never remember the details but I know that every time I see a great and terrifying demon, a beautiful woman and a warrior carrying a shining blade standing between them. Have you had similar dreams?" The old man looked up hoping for a certain answer.

Link thought back to his dreams, he remembered seeing a demon, maybe, perhaps there had been a woman but he had never seen a warrior in green. "Urm, I'm sorry but I can't say, I don't remember very much from my dreams only that I often wake in a cold sweat or… screaming." Link admitted.

"I see," the old man pondered, "Link... there is a darkness coming." The abbot said, shadows covered his eyes. The only light in the room now was from the candle on the table. Stars began to become visible behind the man. "Silently like the night, a great evil is returning. Something I believe Hyrule is not prepared for, something that will consume us before we can even put up a fight."

"Urm Head Abbot?"

"Link, my name is Gray, I have never asked you to treat me as anything more than your equal." The abbot said a hint of stressed sternness returning.

"I'm sorry… Gray," Link said, there was a stagnant pause, "But, why are you telling me, surely Ysabel would be a better person to tell, surely she can do more about it than me." Link stated.

"Hmm, yes that child is full of spirit, she is strong no doubt but for some reason I feel it is you I need to tell this too, not her. I don't know what is going to happen, but I guess the reason I'm telling you this, is to remind you, son, whatever happens, to stay safe and that when everything is over, you always have a place here. You will always have a home in the Abbey."

 **(…)**

Link sat on the edge of the outer walls looking over Lanayru province with a mist over his eyes. The words of the Head Abbot circled in his head over and over again. The interaction had left him confused to put it simply, there was no small amount of anxiousness as well. The abbot was predicting something that seemed unstoppable, so what was the purpose of telling him? Did this darkness exist? Was Gray's prediction true? If so what could a simple farm-hand do?

He was interrupted from his thoughts thanks to a hard chop to his head. "You stood me up!" Link heard from behind him.

"Ah, Ysabel that hurt." Link complained grabbing his head and turning around. Link was surprised at what he saw, Ysabel wasn't in the training armour like normal but wearing a long blue dress that hugged her figure snuggly. Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail that fell over her shoulder. Link couldn't help his blush, he had never seen Ysabel in a dress before in his life. Still he noted how thick the cloth was it didn't look like a dress one would where on a normal day.

"And? We were going to spar, what happened? You've never missed training once." Ysabel asked looking stern but hurt.

Link sighed, "I'm sorry, Gray wanted to speak to me and then I just got urm… distracted?"

"Gray? You mean the Head Abbot, What was it about?" Ysabel asked confused. Link pondered whether to tell her, surely she could do a lot more about it than he could.

"Well, I guess I can tell you," Link paused, "He said he thinks a darkness is coming, something really evil."

"Really? sounds like he is just getting paranoid in his old age." Ysabel decided.

Link paused for a moment turning back to face the world, "Yeh, that must be it," Link said, his worries not abated.

Ysabel noticed, "You don't seem convinced,"

"Well, I don't know, he seemed really serious about it, it seemed very final. To be honest with him I think… maybe… he could be right, he mentioned my nightmares and they have been getting worse and worse recently. He also seemed to think I could do something about it. It was weird, he said when it was over I would always have a home here. What does that mean?"

The older woman sighed and sat on the crenellation next to him. "Link, you know that like me you weren't born here right," Link nodded, he had been found wandering in the forest as a child, the head abbot had found him and brought him in nearly 12 years ago, "Yet despite this you have become a part of this community, not just a part of it but a truly loved part. The children, the adults, the abbey workers, even travellers have watched you grow into a fine young man, the pride of the town. Unlike me who has always been an outcast you are an important member of this community. I think the Head Abbot was trying to remind you of that. No matter what happens you always have a home within these walls. So should you get lost you always have somewhere to return." Ysabel's voice wavered at the end catching Link's attention.

Link turned and saw silver streaks glide down her face, "Ysabel," he silently said.

"I'm sorry Link, it's nothing," she said wiping her eyes stubbornly, it was unlike her to act this way.

"Ysabel?" Link questioned, it was gentle but sought an answer. Honestly the teen was worried, he'd never seen Ysabel like this, it was unusual.

"Sorry, it's just your very lucky in that way Link. It's not a secret that I don't quite belong here."

"What do you mean this is your home too?" Link quickly argued for his friend.

Ysabel smiled, "You're sweet Link, but no. I've never truly belonged anywhere, most places I go I get turned away almost immediately, I have very few friends, I… I don't really have a home like you do."

"You're wrong." Link quickly said, "You are always welcome at my house, if the abbey isn't your home then surely my house is. I mean you spend enough time there don't you,"

Ysabel smiled, "You don't know how happy that makes me Link, thank you. However the abbot is right, darkness may not be coming but change certainly is. I've been trying to combat that for a while. To spend more time here, with you. I think if I belong anywhere in the world… it's..."

Ysabel fell silent, for quite a while, Link didn't say a word he just gazed up at the full moon.

"Link, just know, I have really loved training you these past years, I can honestly say our time together has been the best of my life."

Link looked at his mentor, his idol, his best friend, "it's been mine as well, Thank you Ysabel," he smiled widely at Ysabel causing her heart to skip a beat.

Ysabel smiled, "Anyway, It is too pleasant an evening for you to be thinking so hard about oncoming evils, let's talk about something else."

Link sighed, letting his worries wash into the back of his mind, "I guess you're right,"

"I'm your elder of course I'm right," Ysabel said as a matter of fact.

Link laughed a bit too hard at that and received a light punch for his trouble. There was a peaceful silence between them for a few moments before Ysabel spoke up again, "Hey Link,"

"Oh no," Link sighed knowing what was coming.

"What?" Ysabel said picking up on his dread.

"Whenever you say 'Hey Link' like that it means you're about to cook up a very unchivalrous plan."

"How dare you suggest that a knight would stoop so lo…"

"Just tell me what you're planning," Link interrupted looking at Ysabel with a disapproving look.

Ysabel grinned back with a very out of character smile. "What do you say we pilfer the wine cellar and have a little party up here?"

Link looked at Ysabel in disbelief, he struggled to hold in a snigger. "Ysabel, are you not meant to be a knight of honour and justice? Not to mention that I'm underage." Link said sarcastically at the suggestion.

"Only by a few months and it's hardly any worse than what you get up to with those kids. Only last week I caught you stealing steam buns with them you're a bad influence you know!" Ysabel laughed.

"Hmm, I wonder where I get it from." Link said eyeing her suspiciously.

"Being a little rebellious once in a while is healthy. C'mon Link, I want this to be a night to remember." Ysabel said taking Link's hand and pulling him back towards the abbey. Her hand was soft, Link couldn't help but smile. He was the only person to ever see this side of Ysabel, the free side of her, not restricted by her social awkwardness, chivalry or reputation. Right now she was just a smiling young woman. He loved that.

They did exactly as they had planned stealing a fair amount of wine and returning to the ramparts with their loot. Ysabel laughed at Link's first attempt at drinking the wine, he immediately spat it back out asking why anyone drank the stuff. Ysabel admitted she had no idea either also wincing at the taste despite being a tad more accustomed to it. She countered that it was better than ale. Link decided not to argue with her. They continued to talk deep into the night until Link fell asleep on her shoulder. She smiled down at the boy noticing the light fluff that adorned his chin, he was almost a man. Slowly she lifted him onto her shoulder and carried him home. Her fears were abated for the night, just like normal Link would wake up late tomorrow, cook her a great breakfast and go to work. Just like normal he would return in the evening and she would teach him more of what she knew. They would practice swordplay, archery, they would talk and laugh and then return to bed once again. And just like normal she would treasure every moment.

The tomorrow she dreamed of however would never happen again. There was a darkness coming and in the depths of the night it approached unimpeded.

 **(…)**

Something was horribly wrong, Link knew it instantly. Even with his head still spinning from the alcohol, the hurried bell of the great abbey woke him up immediately. It was not the normal jovial ring that marked the hours, no this was persistent, loud and warning. Confused and worried he hurried to his window and threw back the curtains. His breath stopped as the sight confirmed his greatest fears. Link had woken up in the same hell he had dreamt about.

The Abbey stood tall as great fires that surrounded its base. Great black winged creatures soared above the inferno dropping flaming balls that appeared to explode as they hit the Earth. Link gasped in horror, the Abbey was under attack. How? Why? What was going on? Could this be the darkness Abbot Gray was talking about? Link's mind immediately turned to the children and he was spurred into action.

Quickly Link threw on his undershirt and burst out of his house running towards the town as fast as he could. He looked to the sky, it was red from the fire light with smoke obscuring the abbeys assailants. Link could vaguely see small figures atop of the birds, he figured they must be the ones attacking the Abbey but why? What purpose was there in doing this? Were they bandits?

Link looked ahead to the town. People were yelling, running manically up the hill for sanctuary in the Abbey. Link looked around frantically for the children before he heard a feminine yell. He knew that yell all too well. Link looked to the roof of the tallest building in town. There she stood shining like a silver beacon. Link couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

"Ysabel?" Link muttered hardly recognising the figure.

She was clad in silver plate armour he had never seen on her before, it was practical yet beautiful at the same time, nothing like the armour she wore during training. She wore the armour over the armour was worn over the dress she was wearing earlier, blue and silver together, the colours of the Hylian knights. She drew a bow that stretched out well over the length of her body, twice the size of her normal hunting bow. Her eyes were sharper than he had ever seen before as she aimed at the sky. With a powerful yell she loosed the arrow letting it sail and hit its target. The bird didn't stand a chance as the arrow lanced through its heart knocking out of the sky. Link noticed the great sword on her back, an incredible change to the dull blades they practiced with. This was not the Ysabel Link had trained with for the past five years and it certainly was not the Ysabel he had been drinking with a few hours ago. This was Ysabel, the fallen Knight of Hyrule. The woman who was both his best friend and a complete stranger.

Link suddenly realised then, Ysabel was the only fighter in the town, the only one who could defend against the attack. He had to help, she had not trained him for nothing. Link steeled himself and ran over to the house she was under. He had to do something.

"YSABELLLLL!" he called from the floor.

Ysabel peeked her head over the side of the building, her eyes furious. "Link you're late," She yelled, there was none of the previous happiness in her voice, it was cold and steely. "Get the people to safety," she threw a sword down to Link, it landed with a clatter next to him, "You're the only other person who can actually use a blade in this damned town, go towards the main gate town wipe out anything that isn't human and save anything that is. I will hold off the Kargaroks, until you get the people to safety!"

"Right!" Link shouted back, butterflies filled his stomach, the weight of the town was on his shoulders, he had to stop anyone from dying. He quickly picked up the sword and froze, it was heavier than he expected. Then he realised why. It was a blade made to kill and it was his job provide that killing blow. His hand began to shake violently, _Oh Hylia_ , he thought as doubts plagued his mind.

"Link listen to me!" He heard from above, "You are stronger than you realise but you have no experience, just remember when taking a life be it monster or human take it for the right reason. Never kill in cold blood. Once you choose to kill, never hesitate and never look back. The moment you doubt yourself you die. Now go quickly, get everyone into the Abbey they will be safe there!"

Link was still shaking, but he nodded running out onto the main road. What he saw was horrifying. People were running up the hill to the abbey, carrying the injured, trying to free the trapped. Link heard a cry of help coming from down the road and ran. Weaving through the people as he carried the sword Ysabel had given him. He smelt it before he saw it. The stench of fresh blood and death. He reached the source of the cry and halted at what he saw. The cobbles were stained red, the men of the town were attempting to fend off a horde of monsters using only farm tools, already some had fallen. The creatures were half the size of humans but carried long cleavers designed to hack people apart. Link covered his mouth to stop him throwing up at the sight of the bloodstained cleavers being pulled out of the corpses bodies.

The tip of Link's sword fell to the floor, he had no idea what to do. Suddenly an arrow flew past his ear striking one of the approaching monsters. Link turned to see Ysabel looking right at him her green eyes boring into him as her lips moved. She was at least quarter of a mile away but Link knew what she was saying. "Save them."

Link gripped his blade tightly and ran towards the monsters with a battle cry. The men of the town heard his cry and turned to see Link charging towards them wielding his blade.

"Link's here! We're saved!" they cheered.

Link rushed passed them and caught one of the cleavers as it descended on one of the men. "I'll handle this, everybody get to the abbey quickly, Carry the children and the injured and get everybody out of the town, me and Ysabel will hold them off for as long as we can. No one else is allowed to die!" The men hesitated as Link kicked one of the monsters back. "Quickly!" Link yelled.

"But Link!" one yelled.

"GO!" Link yelled blocking another cleaver.

The men didn't complain any further and all of them ran to fulfil their new mission. Link could now concentrate completely on what was in front of him. There were ten of them all small in stature with elongated ears and faces. They were essentially humanoid and wore nothing that could be called armour, their cleavers however looked like they would easily be able to kill Link in a single blow or at least cause him a lot of pain if he wasn't careful. Thinking back to the book of monsters Ysabel had once shown him he figured these were probably bokoblins or bulblins.

Link took a step back and remembered his training with Ysabel, bringing his second hand to the pommel of his sword he prepared himself to fight. The first of the monsters attacked, Link deflected the blade easily clearing a space for him to strike. Link saw his opportunity and halted. He was about to kill something, he froze, his stomach flipped, he was about to hurl. His vision blurred. He didn't even see as a cleaver came down on his arm hitting its mark and making a shallow wound that immediately began to ooze blood. Link yelled in pain as it overwhelmed every other sensation he was feeling. He remembered Ysabel's advice, 'don't hesitate, kill for the right reason.' Was this the right reason? He heard another scream behind him. More people needed his help. He needed to finish here. Ignoring the cut in his arm he swung the blade hard. Blood covered the blade on the return Link was panicked by the vibrant colour and sheer amount of it but he knew he couldn't hesitate again. He had to survive he had to find the kids.

Link swung again snapping a cleaver in half and running the blade across a second monsters chest. Link yelled to eliminate any resistance his conscious put up. Swinging again to block a cleaver from slicing his leg. He brought his blade up and sliced down cutting into one of the monsters head. Blood flew from the monsters wound. Covering his shirt as Link pulled the blade out and defended against the next wave of cleaver attacks. Am I almost done? How many have I killed? Three? Link cursed he thought he was closer to being done. The remaining seven began to surround him. Link knew he would not be able to defend against all of them at once. Link thought through his options in a split second. He realised then that only one attack would help him here. He had never used it against an enemy before, he prayed it worked. He prepared himself tensing his muscles ready to burst into action. As soon as the monsters were close enough Link flew. Holding his blade out, he pushed off the floor and spun as hard as he could with an insane roar.

The monsters had no idea how to react and were all struck by the violent attack being thrown back by the sheer force of it. Link stopped shaking off the dizziness as fast as he could, he counted the monsters still standing three. No four he realised as he felt white hot pain run across his back. He quickly spun round, ignoring the pain in his back, and decapitated the monster behind him that had just struck at him. Three more, three more and he was done. He charged towards his enemy fighting through the tears in his eyes, and cut the final three down with sheer brute force before they could put up any resistance.

As he removed his blade from the heart of the last monster and watched it vanish he fell to his knees and looked at the blood staining his hands. His tears did nothing to wash the blood away. Link looked up to his idol, she was still wielding her bow, mercilessly shooting monsters down. Did she feel like he did? Or was she just accustomed to it? Stress built up in Link's mind as he considered how it was possible for Ysabel to be so lively in his house but so brutal now. _How does this not affect her?_

"Link!" a voice came from behind, Link's eyes widened and he froze, it was a child's voice. It was Hota's voice. "Link, it's Olava she's trapped in her house you have to help!" Link daren't turn around, how could he face the child like this? The running footsteps of Hota stopped as the child saw the bodies.

Link turned to face him and gazed into the eyes of the young boy. "Link?" Link looked down in horror, how must he look to the child. No more than a monster, than a killer. Was this what was outside the walls? Death? "Link, you're bleeding!" Hota said running towards the older boy.

"What?" Link said too overwhelmed to truly comprehend what was going on anymore.

"Oh, gods Link you're a better fighter than this aren't you? We've seen you fight Ysab…" Hota approached lending a slight hand.

Link's eyes widened and he flinched back, he was about to scream right then, his mind was an utter mess. A sharp stinging pain struck his cheek. "Link, pull yourself together!" Link held his cheek and looked at Hota, "if you can't keep it together how do expect me and the others to. Link you have to be our rock! You have to be stronger than us otherwise we're doomed. So snap out of it already!" Hota yelled, the fearful yet courageous eyes of the youth returned Link to sanity.

Link breathed out for the first time in a minute. The torrent in his mind calming for now. "Right, you're right."

"Good, here!" Hota said removing his tunic he rolled it up and tied it tightly around Links waist so it covered his back injury. "The injuries aren't actually as bad as they look, this should stop the bleeding, your arm will have to wait, it doesn't look too bad but keep pressure on it while we run."

"Thanks Hota, now quickly you said Olava needed help, take me to her."

"This way!" Hota said running ahead. As Link followed he took a quick look back at what he had done. He pinched himself before looking ahead. Praying to the goddesses for forgiveness.

 **(…)**

It was not long before Link and Hota made it. At this point nearly everyone in the town had evacuated, Link had heard from Hota that he and Osca had gotten separated from their parents and had come across Kela who was trying to save Olava. Hota and Osca attempted to help before they decided to find Link. The birds were now attacking the abbey itself however their bombs had no effect on the great stone structure. Link looked up to the roof Ysabel was on, she was nowhere to be seen now. Link assumed she had gone to defend the abbey.

The sound of crying filled the burning air. Link looked ahead to see that Kela had broken down into tears, useless in such a situation. Osca was attempting to comfort her. Link ran over with Hota and began to dig through the rubble towards the second child. Link wondered where the hell Fris was? If he wasn't with his children then he feared for the worst.

"Olava can you hear me it's Link!" Link shouted dropping his sword on the floor to free his hands for digging.

"LIIINNNKKK!" the child yelled, "Help me, ma isn't moving," she cried out.

Link froze for a second looking into the eyes of the child, he could not hide the realisation and fear, "Olava," He started quietly, "I need you to listen to me okay, we are going to get you out of there but your mother..." Olava's eyes began to shake, she didn't want to accept it, she didn't want Link to tell her what she had already figured out.

"Link we will have to lift this beam but if we do the house will become really unstable." Hota interrupted.

"Alright," Link said, shifting himself under the beam. Soon his shoulders locked with the beam his muscles tensed and slowly but surely Link raised the beam high enough for a child to crawl out. The house began to shudder and crumble from the disturbance.

"Olava!" Link said seeing the small girl's shadow, "C'mon crawl towards me!" Link called from under the beam. "Hota help her!" Olava shook her head clinging to her mother's arm tears flowing out of her eyes, "Olava! Please… I'm sorry." Link said tears flowing out of his eyes, if he had been faster perhaps this wouldn't have happened. There was a brief rumble and a large amount of house crumbled behind her making her squeal and panic.

"Olava, come on hurry! You'll be safe soon." Hota called.

"I can't hold this much longer." Link groaned under the strain.

"Olava, listen if you don't come out you will die!" Hota yelled reaching a hand out.

Olava simply cried more shaking her head in denial.

"Olava!" Kela shouted above her tears, "You can't die too, don't you dare leave me alone!"

Olava sat shell-shocked her worst fears revealed.

Link fell to one knee "Argh, Hota, It's about to go!" Olava looked at the struggling face of Link as he struggle to hold up beam. "Olava, remember our promise, remember. If you stay in there…" He groaned as the beam jerked another few centimetres lower

Olava gave one final pained look to her mother before releasing the hand she had been holding. She then turned and began to crawl towards Link.

He had run out of time, "Hota, now!" Link yelled

Hota reached right into the house and grabbed Olava by the scruff of her shirt and pulled her out with a yell. The falling beam just missed the child's legs. As the entire house collapsed. Link managed to roll out from under the falling beam clutching his shoulder in pain. Hota could already see the forming bruise that stretched across his upper back.

Link panted as Kela collided with Olava the pair of them wailed into each other's shoulders in grief.

"Link they're coming!" Hota yelled. Link looked to the sky. Sure enough a whole group of kargaroks were flying in their direction.

Link cursed and picked up his sword. "C'mon we're going to the Abbey, Osca carry Olava."

"Link! Look the sky!" Link looked into the night sky, behind the flames hovering in the direction of his house a sky-ship floated above the island, it was enormous. It had to be the size of the Abbey if not bigger and it was armed to the teeth. A huge red balloon carried it emblazoned with the symbol of Hyrule.

"It's the Hylian Navy!" Osca yelled with joy.

Link however made another assessment, "No, the ship isn't blue," Link said looking at the skull that replaced the triforce on the symbol of Hyrule, "They're pirates."

Link turned hearing the screeching of the kargaroks as they dropped their riders. An overwhelming amount of the same creatures he had fought earlier. The kargaroks then flew back towards the abbey. The smaller monsters charged at the kids. Link ushered them up the main road, hopefully they could outrun them. He looked back to the pirate ship and saw more approaching birdlike creatures. These ones were much bigger and faster from just a quick glance Link could see that they looked far more reptilian than the others flying around. The monsters behind Link soon caught up and Link began to fend them off. Link cursed at the sheer amount and yelled for the kids to keep going.

"LINK!" he heard the kids call from behind him. He glanced around, already the dragon like creatures were almost above them. They were at least twice the size of a human with rough scales. Link abandoned the monsters on the ground to take care of the three approaching lizard like creatures. The lizards swooped down, Link swung at them but missed easily. The one he swung at was forced back into the air but the other two swung past him and plucked up their targets from the ground like an owl would pluck a mouse. The lizards snapped Olava, Osca and Kela up into their talons and began to carry them away.

"NOOO!" Link yelled watching as the kids flew away. He swung at the third dragon again but it avoided once again and grabbed onto Link it then took off and cast him violently away down the street over the oncoming swarm of monsters. It then wheeled round to pick up the last child, Hota, who attempted to escape but failed and was snatched up just as easily as the other three children.

Link collided with the road and began to roll violently to a halt. Paralysed from the pain all he could do was watch uselessly as the Link dragons flew back to the great airship which went on to fade into smoke. He had failed. He had failed to protect the children he cared so much about, he had failed to protect his town, now he was lying on the brink of death. He coughed up blood defiantly, refusing to accept his fate. He weakly attempted to pull himself up, attracting the attention of the monsters that were just a little way up the road. They screeched oddly and ran down to Link.

Link realised then he didn't have a weapon, he didn't have anything, not even the strength to stand. Still he refused to die here, he refused to surrender, the kids had been taken alive and he was not dead yet. He had to save them and that meant he had to get over this obstacle.

Link roared defiantly against his fate, a roar that was outmatched. Link looked towards the monsters hearing the sound of rending flesh and clashing steel. Link smiled in relief at the voice, he was saved, Ysabel was here. He watched in awe as his knight in shining armour came to his rescue. Link couldn't take his eyes off of the woman in front of him. Strong, fast, unstoppable just as she had been when fighting him. Link couldn't keep her eyes off the woman in silver in front of him as she blasted through the hordes with a disciplined grace few could match. Very soon her work was done and the demon's bodies exploded into nothing just like they always did. Ysabel lowered her greatsword draining the blood off as she ran towards Link and helped him up.

"Link! What happened?"

Link pointed to the sky, "The lizards, they took the kids!" he choked

"I know I saw that's why I'm down here, Link take this and drink it." Ysabel pulled out a water skin. "Drink this it will make you feel better."

"Thanks." Link said letting her guide the bottle to his lips.

"Gods Link, I'm so sorry, I put you in so much pain." Ysabel gasped looking at the blood on his shirt.

"Don't worry… not all of it is mine." Link spluttered on the rest of the water, it was sweeter than he anticipated and his throat was much dryer than he remembered. He gritted his teeth and spoke anyway "We have to go after those pirates!" Link said, "Where is my sword?"

"Link no," Ysabel ordered,

"What but we have t…"

"I said no, right now you need to inform castle town about this, we need aid quickly, the enemy is bombarding the abbey."

"What are you on about? Ysabel… what about the children!"

"They are next on my list right after saving the abbey, besides we can't catch up to them now, don't forget they are sky pirates and we don't have an airship. Besides, if you're in this state from a couple of Bokoblins do you really think you can handle pirates?"

"If it means saving the children then yes." Link said eyeing his idol with strong ferocious eyes that Ysabel did not recognise.

"Link, don't be so foolish and listen to me." Ysabel dragged Link to his feet and began to pull him quickly towards the main gate, she did however take the brunt of his weight to help him walk. The boy was in no fit state to be doing so alone. "Right now the Abbey is being attacked, I don't care if it's the pirates or not we have to get help. If I go, there will be no one to defend the abbey if you don't go we are all going to die."

The pair had made it to the stable just in front of the main gate. Ysabel put Link down as gently as she could and began to whistle it was a simple short tune of descending notes that earned the response of a shrill whinny.

Following the whinny came a glorious chestnut mare galloping out of the stables.

"Wait you want me to ride Epona? Don't you remember what happened last time?" Link said in shock, Link had sworn that the horse wanted to kill him.

"Of course I remember, she was just playing besides no other horse in this stable is nearly as strong or as fast. She will serve you well and will always be close by all you need to do is use the call I just used."

"Ysabel, I can't go... the children!"

"Link do what you're told." Ysabel ordered, "Once I have sorted this out I promise you and I will hunt down the pirates and get the kids back. Don't worry there is no need for the pirates to kill them they will probably be kept alive and sold for slavery."

"Slavery?" Link yelled.

"Link, slavery means we can get them back death means we can't, but you cannot worry about that now focus on the tasks ahead of you if you dwell on things you cannot yet change you will begin to have doubts, doubts lead to mistakes and mistakes lead to death. Right now you need to focus on getting to castle town. Go, find the King and tell him the Abbey needs help." Ysabel said as she practically threw Link onto the saddle of the mare.

"Ysabel!" Link yelled,

"Damn it, Link!" Ysabel yelled in a lightning fast motion Ysabel jumped and a gauntleted fist collided with Link's head knocking him unconscious immediately. A small trail of blood trickled down from Link's forehead.

Tears rolled down Ysabel's cheeks, tears she had been hiding for so long. "You're our only hope," she whispered. She immediately grasped his head in both of her hands and placing her forehead against his. His blood running down her face. "Link," she said looking at the closed eyelids of the boy. "Please… stay safe," There was a stagnant moment where she expected Link to speak. But he didn't, "Please." She prayed tears washing the soot off of her face. "Make sure you come back to me,"

For a single moment, Ysabel glanced at the boy's lips. She closed her eyes promising herself and praying one last time. She then placed Link gently into a more comfortable position before moving to her mare's ear. "He is your master now, Epona. Please… take care of him." She whispered to the horse. She then stepped back feeling her horses urge to run.

With a loud neigh the horse raised its forelegs momentarily and was off. Fast like a bolt of lightning but smooth to protect her rider.

Ysabel watched as the horse and the boy rode over the bridge into the distance and out of view.

"Ride fast, Hero, the world depends on you now," She whispered before gripping her sword tightly and turning back to face the burning abbey.

* * *

 **So here it is. My big secret project, I have no idea how this story is going to go down with you peeps but I do hope you enjoy it. I've never written a chapter of this size before so I really hope it wasn't too long or that it wasn't dragged out, Future chapters will not be this long. As you've probably guessed this is a unique Legend of Zelda story that will be based on the games and basic Legend of Zelda formula but will have a new story, new OCs and a new Link. There will of course be parallels and the beloved old characters from the games.**

 **I am quite excited to see what people think of this especially since there will be large differences in the world to normal. An example of this is the fact that it is set in the sky. Similar to skyward sword but the sky world is huge so Link won't be going below to the surface.**

 **Anyway I would love to know what you guys think of it so please drop a review. Criticism is desired so don't hold back I would also love to here ideas for the future of the story and theories you may have. Don't forget to fave and follow if you enjoyed it.**


	2. A Broken Boy

**Legend of Zelda: Crown of continents**

 **By _Super-Mega-Punch_**

 **Chapter 2 - A Broken Boy**

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 **13/5/16**

 **Hello Everyone, I made another chapter which is quite a bit shorter than the previous one. I don't enjoy chapters that drag on and proof reading a 15,000 word chapter is a pain in the butt. This is much more manageable. This chapter focuses very much on Link, which I found an interesting challenge. Link as a character is a faceless, silent template designed to increase your immersion in the games. You're sort of meant to project yourself onto his character so writing that in a novel form especially when he starting a journey is very difficult. Currently I am trying to project Link's youth and how being thrust from his safe happy life is effecting him. This is only the beginning of his journey and as with many Legend of Zelda games this will be a story about Link's coming of age. How he turns from a boy to a hero.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoy it, please fave and follow if you do to get more. And if you have any opinions, questions, ideas, criticisms or anything else that you want to tell me, please leave a review or pm me. Reviews make my day and will always improve the quality of my writing.**

 **Thanks**

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Pain was the first thing Link felt upon regaining consciousness. Every inch of his body burned with searing pain, his head rang, his muscles ached, breathing was difficult and his cuts were a mess due to neglect. The steady rock of the horse under him did nothing to help the agony he was under. The pain however paled in comparison to the trauma his mind was reliving. Memories from the previous night surged through his mind. Link wanted so badly to cry out and release his pain to the world but it was simply too much. Instead the boy slumped further into the horse's saddle despair overwhelming him.

In his mind he could see it all as clearly as if he was still there. The smoke, the blood, the crimson sky. He remembered the horror of taking his first life and the unbearable pain of being unable to protect the ones he loved. With the image of the accursed sky ship in his head he brought his fist down in rage onto the horse below him and instantly regretted.

With a furious neigh, Epona reared up at the mistreatment casting Link off of her back and into a stream following the side of the road. She then huffed and turned her back on Link, plodding away to let him contemplate his actions. Equally enraged at the horse, Link finally opened his eyes. The moment he did he was reminded of how he had got here, Ysabel and the mission he had given him. His willpower faded pathetically and he collapsed further into the stream. He looked to the sky, a thick white fog blanketed the surroundings it was a struggle to see anything more than ten metres away from him. He sighed letting the freezing water wash gently over his torso.

Judging by the mist and the chill in the air Link assumed it was still early morning. Link looked at his surroundings a single stumpy tree grew awkwardly further down the road. It lacked the magnificence of the trees that surrounded Abbey Town revealing that Link had long since left the forest on the eastern border of Lanayru. He was now deep into Hyrule field. Link cursed angrily and covered his eyes with his arm as they began to water. The hopelessness of his situation, weighing on him.

The caw of a crow shattered the silence and made Link yell in surprise. Link looked behind him and was face to face with the carrion bird. It cawed again in Link's face making the boy angry again. In annoyance he pulled himself up and shouted defiantly "I'm not dead you stupid bird, get lost,"

Although he had managed to scare the bird off, Link quickly realised why the bird was so close. The young boy was not prepared for what he saw. A hand, blue and stiff with rigor mortis lay frozen in front of him. It clawed at the earth, fingers desperately carving deep trenches into the dirt in some final attempt at life. Its fingernails were chipped and broken and the skin was coated in dried blood. Link looked to the hand's owner and covered his mouth as he retched. The smell was as bad if not worse than the sight he saw. A man lay dead in front of him, his body brutally mutilated underneath armour stained brown with the man's dried blood. Already nature was reclaiming the body, decay was already visible on the man as his wounds festered with foul smelling infection. Link looked at the shredded tabard the man wore, it was white and blue and bore the sigil of the Hylian Army. Link's eyes widened and he looked out past the man to survey the rest of the field.

The fog lifted mysteriously at that moment to grant Link a better view of the graveyard he was lying in. Swords stuck in the earth like gravestones to the long dead bodies below them. Tattered and burned flags waved morbidly in the breeze guiding Link's gaze to the great mausoleum that was the enormous airship that had chosen to fall into ruin here. Link stood spinning round to get a better vision of what was once a great battlefield, his eyes surveyed every mutilated body, every bent weapon, and fallen warrior. His stomach surrendered and emptied itself as Link fell to his knees. An entire army lay dead before him which meant Hyrule was in a far worse position than he had thought. In the abbey's seclusion he had become naïve. If the abbey was under attack, then no doubt all of Lanayru was too. Link fell forward and rested his forehead on the bank of the stream. His heart felt like lead. It was dragging him further and further down. His mind was filled with emotions, grief, anger, self-loathing, self-pity, guilt, sorrow… hopelessness. What on earth was he meant to do? How could he keep the promises to the ones he loved?

A loud whinny interrupted Link's depressive spiral. Link sighed and turned to face Ysabel's great mare. No matter how much he hated the horse, she reminded him of her. Link smiled sadly.

"Ysabel," Link he whispered, picturing her face as if it was right in front of him.

Her voice echoed in his mind,

"Ride fast, Hero, the world depends on you now."

Go to castle town and get help. That was the mission entrusted to him, to get help and save the town. They were depending on him. Link placed a hand on his forehead as rationality hit him, he looked at the battlefield that surrounded him, was there any help left? Epona whinnied again frustrated at her new master's inadequacy. She shoved the boy roughly knocking him down into the stream again.

Link cursed as he fell and looked up at the animal angrily before he realised something. In this situation that is exactly what Ysabel would have done. Link looked up at the horse as the voice of his best friend once again ran through his mind. "Get up Link, get out of the damn mud and on the horse Link, she won't respect you otherwise." It was a memory from one of the many times Ysabel had attempted to teach Link how to ride her horse. Needless to say Link did not like Epona and Epona also greatly disliked Link and so every attempt at riding her had ended with Link in a pile of shit. He imagined the horse was also frustrated that they had been thrust into this mission together.

Link sighed sadly and stood up again, "Alright horse I get it, I know we dislike each other but right now we'll have to put that aside and focus on getting to Castle Town, for Ysabel's sake." Link climbed out of the stream and held a hand out in front of the horse, "Truce?" he said. Hopefully looking into the mare's strong eyes. The horse snorted and turned to the side to allow Link on her back. Link almost smiled and attempted to get on before Epona simply walked forward out of the way. Before Link could complain she flicked her tail and whipped at the cut on Link's back. Hota's shirt from yesterday was gone and it would need a replacement. No doubt the horse wanted him to tend to his own wounds before continuing the ride. Link sighed and pulled his shirt off in response, getting to work as fast as he could.

(…)

The rest of the day's ride had been long and arduous, Epona had guided them because Link had no clue where he was going. They had headed north-west for quite a way at full galloping speed. Link was certainly surprised at the sheer speed and stamina of Epona. He knew she was no war horse but she was still leagues ahead of any of the abbey horses he had ridden.

It was late afternoon when they reached the cliff overlooking the southern edge of Lake Hylia. Link had heard stories of how large and beautiful the lake was, how it looked like a paradise in the sun and how poets and artists would spend entire days and nights at its shores trying to capture its beauty. Link was sorely disappointed at what he saw, although the mist had lifted, the sky was grey and overcast. His heart sank, the lake therefore was nothing more than boring, a simple reflection of the sky. Still Link chose to admire the scenery as best he could in order to distract himself from the pain in his stomach. He had not eaten all day, there had been no time to pack food and there was no one on the road to buy anything from, not that he had any money to start with. Link did however have a water skin and water was plentiful so that was not a worry. Still there was nothing he could do about food until he reached Castle Town.

Link figured they must have been close now, castle town sat on the western cliff overlooking Lake Hylia. Ysabel had told him that the city was enormous, nearly two hundred times bigger than Abbey Town with a mighty castle in the centre that was even more grand than the abbey. Link of course assumed that she was exaggerating but despite the circumstances he was excited to see if what she'd told him was true. Although dampened, the light of adventure still existed in his heart

Epona's gallop slowed to a trot as she reached the peak of the hill they had been climbing, she stopped at the very peak and whinnied proudly. Link's eyes widened at the sight before him. What Ysabel had told him was definitely no exaggeration. Steeples, towers and turrets rose up grazing the sky with their tips. The city was huge and surrounded by a stone wall twice as tall as Abbey Town's. Coming from the town the ruined remains of the great bridge of Hylia jutted out over the lake. Bright azure tiles rooved the great stone buildings of the city some of which were far larger than the entirety of Abbey town. In the centre of the city an almighty castle rose high above all the other towers, a bastion representing the strength of Hyrule. Despite being eager to explore, Link couldn't help but frown at the ominous smokestacks that rose above the towers. He grimaced and urged Epona on towards the city.

(…)

The unguarded gate to the city was the first sign that something here was definitely wrong. Link and Epona however trotted uneasily into the silent city, their options were limited. Link's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the main street. Every shop was closed, every window was boarded up, the market tents were abandoned and there wasn't a single soul on the street. Then why did Link feel like he was being watched?

They continued on slowly plodding their way up towards the castle in the centre of the city. Only now could he see how dwarfed he was by it. It was intimidating enough seeing how monumentally huge the city was but the castle truly made it feel like you were being looked down upon. The smooth stone road he was on was wide and littered with empty market stalls. The south road into town was by far the largest and was commonly used as a market for visiting tradesmen, he had been hoping to pick up some food on the way up to the castle, but that unfortunately was not going to happen. Link analysed the market stalls surrounding him, there didn't seem to me any damage or signs of any fights which he would assume was a good sign despite the fact it simply made him more unnerved. It was too early to let his guard down yet.

As Link approached the central plaza of the road he dismounted Epona.

"Thanks," he briefly said to the horse, Epona simply snorted in return and walked away back towards the city entrance. Link sighed at the rude horse but decided he had bigger things to worry about. He looked out at the plaza ahead of him, it connected the south road to the central ring road that ran all the way around the town. The buildings here were mostly inns or large hotels which all faced the ornate fountain in the centre of the plaza. Link approached the water feature admiring its beauty. The stonework flowed as smoothly as the water that it channelled, statues of mermaids and other aquatic beasts swirled together to create the wondrous work of art. It was not the intricacy of the statue Link's eyes were drawn to however. The very top of the statue depicted a mermaid with an outstretched arm reaching high above the others. The tips of her fingers brushed lightly against the centre piece of the statue, three simple triangles delicate arranged around one another, the symbol of the goddesses.

For some time, he stood entranced by the symbol. He did not quite know why he was so drawn to the motif, he had seen it before on the Hylian flags, in books and around the temple but here it just seemed to be so much more, as if it was important to him in some way.

Link climbed into the fountain subconsciously for a closer look. He reached up towards the symbol in the hopes of an answer.

Before his fingers could even brush it, it shattered.

Link flinched in surprise and swiftly turned around behind himself to figure out what had happened. A giant man stood behind him only a few metres away, a bow far larger than Link had ever seen before was knocked, primed and aimed at Link's head. The man's eyes were hidden behind his helmet. Link gave a quick glance to the armour he was wearing, memories rushed through his head. There was little room for doubt. He wore the armour of a Hylian knight. Link looked around to see an entire platoon of Hylian soldiers around him. Each one pointing their spears at the boy.

"State your name and business here," the knight demanded.

Link raised his hands to his head slowly, "My name is Link, I came from Abbey Town to ask for aid from the king. The Abbey is under attack and urgently needs help!"

"Why should we believe you?" the leader called abruptly.

Link, shocked by the statement, struggled to respond. Why wouldn't they believe him? Link looked past the knight to the abandoned street. He understood, even they could tell there was something wrong here which was why they were so suspicious.

Link breathed deep calming himself down, "What happened here? Where are all the people?" he almost shouted.

The knight visibly flinched and the soldiers lowered their weapons slightly unnerved, possibly put off by the entire situation. Link understood then that they had as much idea as he did.

"Listen, you have to believe me I mean no harm, I've just come to castle town for aid, my town is under attack from monsters and we need your help." Link trailed off at the end noticing something incredibly odd with the soldiers. They were twitching, all of them. Their bodies were violently jerking their weapons being lowered. It was getting less subtle every second but there was something wrong with these men.

"Are you all okay you look…?" Link continued cautiously.

"Ignore them kid, trust me they are fine," The knight said drawing Link's attention, he was the only one not twitching. Why? And how could he dismiss such an oddity among his troops, "Now, normally I'm sure I would be more than happy to help," The knight grinned sadistically as his head twisted to the side he lowered his bow. "But right now I'm not feeling quite myself you see," Link stepped back a pace.

Something was very, very wrong. Every fibre in his body was telling him to flee.

"Now, now boy no need to be nervous, we just need to take you in for questioning." The knight smiled, "You'll come quietly won't you,"

Link's instincts took control. He was running, he found the largest gap amongst the men and charged.

"Get him!" he heard from the knight.

The soldier's enclosed on Link together. A spear was thrust at him, Link managed to react just on time and get out the way. "Please, I mean no harm I just want to see the king." He pleaded

"What king?" the knight continued to grin as Link avoided another spear. Link realised the knight was about to loose his bow and rolled out of the way behind one of the other soldiers. He grit his teeth, as the arrow lanced through one of the soldiers spraying blood onto his face.

"You're making this hard on yourself boy," the head of the troop said. A third spear came at him. Adrenaline began to pump through Link's body now, he had to get to the castle. He sidestepped the spear thrust then threw himself at the wielder tackling him roughly to the ground. He landed roughly on top of the soldier the force of their fall to the floor knocking the soldier's helmet off. Link was the first to recover and pushed himself up as fast as he could when he noticed something very odd. The man's eyes in front of him. They were empty, no iris no pupil, just clear white orbs. His face was completely blank as passive as if he'd had his entire soul sucked out. Link gasped in the horror of realisation as the soldier above him grabbed Link by the scruff of his shirt and threw him to the floor.

"Got you!" the knight said, as a knife was held above Link's back. Link struggled manically beneath the soldier's grip, he couldn't fail now he hadn't even reached the king yet. A huge gust of wind blew past them as the man's dagger descended on Link.

"Stop."

The voice did not come from Link, nor the man on top of him, it wasn't even the lead knight who spoke out. None the less the soldier stopped the knife inches from Link's back.

"Bring him to the castle, he will be useful." The voice was chilling and wispy, it felt as it was riding the wind. Link looked around frantically to find the source of it.

The Hylian knight frowned as if it had had something taken from him. "As you wish my lord," Link struggled more than he had before trying to get out from the soldier's grasp above him but he was unnaturally strong. The knight nodded his order and with a solid thunk, Link was out like a light.

(…)

Link shivered as he opened his eyes. He was lying curled up like a child on a cold stone floor. Slowly he raised his hand to the back of his head and flinched as he lightly brushed against the large lump left from the brief fight in the square. Link attempted to pull himself off the floor but instantly toppled into the closest wall as dizziness overwhelmed his sense of balance. Concussion, Link realised clutching his head as his vision blurred. Hot white pain seared through his skull as the memory of the piercing white eyes of the soldier filled his mind. Link struggled to get his head around it but something had happened here. Thoughts and memories swirled round Link's head as he tried to work out how all this was connected.

An attack on the abbey, the abandoned battlefield, the soldiers, the empty city. All of it pointed to one thing, Hyrule was under attack. No, Hyrule had already fallen. But by who, by what? Link's head unleashed another wave of pain and Link began to feel nauseous. He tried to relax. Figuring out what was happening would have to wait.

Link gave a quick glance at his surroundings, he was not surprised to find himself in a jail cell. The room was dark, the only light came from a torch further down the corridor on the outside of the imposing bars. Link coughed and began to examine himself, his shirt was in tatters and bruises covered a fair amount of his arms and chest. Fortunately, although messy and in need of a wash, his cuts had sealed over. Link just prayed they would not fester or get infected. Link figured that by now, optimistically, he must have at least one broken rib, no doubt the speedy ride here did them little good. Normally it was a three days ride to Castle town from the abbey Link was surprised they had managed it in a single day.

Link thought back to the abbey, Ysabel's instructions floated around in the back his mind. He looked to the ceiling imagining the castle above him, he had to speak to the king or the Abbey would fall. But would the king even listen… was the king even up there? Was the Abbey still standing? Link let out a frustrated yell and punched the wall he was leaning against, he immediately regretted it. He at least owed it to Ysabel and the abbey to try and get help even if it failed.

"It's about damn time!" a voice interrupted from the other side of the wall surprising Link. It was a woman's voice, harsh and crude but there was a hint of aristocracy behind it. It reminded Link of Ysabel's voice except for the fact that it was sharper and concentrated with discontent, "I was beginning to think you were dead."

"H…" Link had to cough to get used to speaking again, "How long was I out?" he asked, his throat was dry and his voice hoarse from fatigue. It seemed to mirror his health perfectly.

"Huh? How am I meant to know? It's not like there is any daylight down here. Just my luck though to get stuck with an idiot." The woman said obviously quite frustrated.

Link didn't quite know how to respond to that, and so stayed silent.

"Anyway now you are awake, I can finally get out of this damn cell."

"Get out… you mean escape?" Link's pointed ears immediately perked up, if he could escape he could find the king and then get reinforcements for Ysabel maybe even find a way to save the children.

"You really aren't bright are you? Of course I meant escape." The woman sighed unimpressed, "First off though you should eat. Fortunately for you the guards actually left something for you something to eat," She said the last bit almost spitefully.

"Is that?" Link said in disbelief as he looked to the front of the cage to see a bowl and a cup.

"Of course it is, judging by the sound of your voice you haven't eaten in ages and you're going to need to need your energy."

Link coughed as he scooted over to it in pain ignoring her harsh comment. He grabbed the bowl and put it on his lap, a white viscous sauce filled the bowl. A single wooden spoon poked out of it. It may have smelled awful but Link didn't hesitate to fill himself. He winced as he tasted it, sawdust was the closest thing in comparison. Sawdust in porridge. Link gagged and instantly went for the water. The water at least tasted like it was meant to. Link forced down a few more mouthfuls before he gave up.

"Hey, what about you? You need some of this too, don't you?" Link said concerned that the woman had not eaten recently.

"Don't worry about me, you need it more and besides… I don't appear to be hungry." She sounded confused at this. Still Link decided she should eat as well of they were going to escape.

"You sure, there is enough, I can half this if you want." Link said offering her the bowl.

"I said I'm fine, now hurry and finish it so we can get this done, I imagine guard rotations will start again now you're down here." The woman said impatiently.

Link winced and looked at the meal in disgust, still food was food and if he was in a jail cell he would need anything he could get his hands on. Reluctantly he took up the spoon and continued with the meal until he was finished. He had to admit, it may have tasted awful but at least it had filled him up.

"Took you long enough, right, now comes the hard bit. The doors of these cells are fairly impenetrable but I've had some time to analyse the doors and with enough strength and leverage you should be able to break the door off its hinges."

"Really?" Link said sceptically. "It looks pretty damn secure to me I don't think I can break these." This was especially true considering his condition. His injuries moaned at the prospect of work.

"Hey, if I say they will break they will break, unless you think you know more about engineering than me and trust me I'm more than a bit of an expert in the subject. These cells are shit, the only reason no one has broken out is because no one thinks to try the door. To be honest I could probably have broken out myself but it seems whoever has us captured has taken more precautions with my cell."

"Why would take more precautions with your cell?" Link asked confused.

"Tch, what's with all the damn questions? Listen closely if this is to continue during our time together I'll leave you to the mercy of whoever has taken the fucking castle now are you going to get the damn doors open or not?" The woman said losing her patience. Link sighed realising that he probably shouldn't annoy this girl more than he already had.

Link looked at the iron gate in the corner of his cell, it looked fairly sturdy. He considered his injuries, after food and water he was feeling a little better but still rough, individually his injuries were minor it was only collectively they posed an issue. Link thought about his current mission. He would not find the king in his cesspit of a cell. Link had made his mind up. "Alright, I'll give it a go." He decided.

"Finally," The woman groaned. Link was already starting to mildly dislike her. Hopefully I will only be stuck with her until she escapes the castle.

With a pained groan Link brought himself to his feet, a bout of dizziness knocked him into the nearby wall. Link grunted as his bruises flared on contact.

"For Din's sake, what's wrong now?"

Link let a moment slide before speaking, he tried to regain his balance. "Concussion… I think." He eventually said trying to stand again.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me. Listen whatever your name is, as you may have guessed Hyrule is in trouble and right now this gate your and concussion are the only things stopping me from doing anything about it, so man the hell up and get the Din be damned gate open already." The woman complained loudly,

"You think I don't know that Hyrule's in trouble, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't. Besides what are you doing in all this?" Link snapped, the woman's incessant complaints were doing nothing to help his throbbing headache.

"Don't you dare snap at me, I'm sure whatever you are going through is truly awful but trust me I have it a million times worse." The woman said.

"I highly doubt that." Link countered angrily. He collected himself before he slowly walked his way over to his door leaning against the bars for support. "How do I do this then?" he said.

"Just lift the door and pull towards you, if you apply enough force the hinges on the door will snap… hopefully."

Link was still doubtful as he assessed the door, bars of the door and began to pull. The door began to creak mournfully as Link attempted to lift it up from the floor. Link persevered against the great weight of the door, his muscles straining with the effort. He was there at least a minute but slowly the door began to actually move. Noticing this Link put on a burst of power grunting as he pulled. As something in the door broke he suddenly felt a white flash of pain. His back, the bruise from he had earned holding up the house beam flared wildly. Link cried out in agony and collapsed roughly onto the stone floor grasping at his back which burned like hellfire.

The woman in the next cell over sighed, "Looks like your injuries were worse than I anticipated.", Her hopes snuffed out like a candle. Link grit his teeth fighting through the pain.

"Heh, don't underestimate me, after five years of fighting Ysabel you think this will be enough to stop me." Link grinned. The screech of metal against metal made Link wince as the iron door slid out its frame and clattered to the floor. Link laughed through the pain at the small victory.

The woman grinned from behind her bars, "I'll admit I was doubtful, very doubtful, but I guess you're tougher than you look," The woman said with a sigh of relief, "Now hurry and get my door open then we can get up to the throne room."

"If you don't mind I could use a second to recover." Link said trying to get in a position to relieve the pain in his back.

The woman made an irritated noise but accepted, "Fine, but make it quick, the noise may have attracted the guards… or worse."

"Why do you need to get to the throne room?" Link asked.

The woman remained silent for quite a bit, "The king is dead." Link's eyes widened, the woman continued, "Someone, or something else is now sat on his throne controlling everything, whoever it is, is responsible for Hyrule going to shit. Right now we don't stand a chance against whoever it is, our only option is to get as far away from castle town as possible if we are to survive... but before that you're going to have to help me get something."

"The king is dead…?" Link whispered in disbelief, it was the only fact he had heard.

The woman sighed, "They attacked your town too didn't they. There have been hundreds from every province with the same story. Unfortunately, you will not be getting any aid from here or anywhere for that matter. The damage is too deep. The kingdom of Hyrule has been irreversibly and permanently shattered. You should give up on whatever hope you have left… it will only hold you back."

Her voice was ice.

Link stayed silent looking at the ceiling, if there was no help the abbey would be destroyed, the abbots, the people, Ysabel all of them would die. Fear pierced his heart like a lance.

"Still if you help me get out of here then you may have a chance at revenge on the bastards who took the throne and caused all of this."

Link flinched at that, something about that simply seemed off. Did he want revenge? Why wouldn't he want revenge? His peaceful home had been attacked and the people within killed, surely retribution was in order. But did he have the right to give it out?

Link sighed sadly, in truth he didn't feel the desire for revenge all he wanted was to see his home again, the Abbots, the townsfolk, Ysabel, the children. All living happily like they had before. Ysabel had told him the children were still alive, he had to believe that. In that moment Link made a decision. He would return to the abbey and give them his aid and then he would leave again. He had to find the children, to save them, to protect them like he promised. But before all that he had to escape. The entire thing was foolish, the woman was right he shouldn't cling to hope… but when hope is the only thing you have left… then what?

"Alright, let's get out of here," Link decided. He pulled himself up, ignoring the pain. He took the first step out of his cage and into the corridor beyond, and in a few short paces he was stood face to face with the woman who was to work as his partner.

The woman stood there with her arms folded over her chest tapping one foot impatiently. She regarded him with sharp eyes looking over him as if she was appraising a tool.

"You look like shit," She simply said. There was no sympathy in her voice it was just a simple statement.

Link almost laughed, it was probably meant to offend him but honestly Link had no choice but to agree with her. He looked like shit, the rags he wore were stained with sweat and dried blood, his body was covered in ugly purple blotches and cuts. He probably stank to high heaven as well.

Still these thoughts were quickly swept away as he looked at the woman in front of him. Even at his finest Link wouldn't even hold a candle to her. Link couldn't help but admire the beauty of the woman in front of him. Chestnut hair flowed elegantly behind her, she wore a simple purple and white knee length dress that was armoured around her chest and shoulders leaving her legs free for fast movement. What was most stunning about her though was the shining azure eyes she had that even rivalled his own. Even after days spent inside a dark drab jail cell she was still beautiful enough to make Link's jaw drop. Why was someone like this in a jail cell? His thoughts were sliced apart as she spoke again.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to get me out of this place?" She said angrily.

Link simply nodded, slightly scared of the bossy beauty. He grabbed on to the bars like he had before. The woman watched as Link's muscles tensed and he pulled on the bars of the door with all of his might. Pain began to flood through his body once again, this door felt heavier than the last for some reason, was this the extra caution their captor had taken for her? Link ignored his wandering mind and focused on the task at hand. No doubt there was more too this door, it wasn't budging one bit. Link yelled as a sharp pain intense burned into his hand, worse than any of his other injuries, ignoring it he continued to pull with all the energy he had left. Slowly but surely he heard the resonating screech telling him that the door was finally moving. With one final pull the pain in his hand ceased there was a massive clang and the door was free. Link threw the door to the side and winced at the noise it made as it crashed to the floor.

Link stumbled back and fell against the wall clutching his left hand. The woman cautiously stretched an arm out to touch the space where the door had just been. Her face curled from a cautious frown into a victorious smile. "See wasn't that hard now was it?" She stated, gracefully walking out of the door.

"What do we do now?" Link asked cradling his left hand.

"We're getting out of here obviously." The woman explained, "But…"

The woman paused looking towards the staircase at the end of the hall with a frown. "There's something we have to get first." The woman announced as she began to walk down the corridor towards the stairs. Link watched her, a puzzled look on his face. This woman was a stranger to him, he didn't even know her name. After all that had happened… Could he trust her?

The woman noticed that Link was not following and turned around to look him in the eyes sternly.

"Well? You coming?"

Link gulped and looked to the floor, a light blush in his face. "Urm well, I was wondering… could you tell your name?" he asked hopefully.

The woman seemed to ponder the question looking towards the ceiling in thought. "I guess there is no harm in telling you. I am Pr-," she paused momentarily, "Just call me Zelda."


	3. A Lost Boy

**Legend of Zelda: Crown of Continents**

 **By Super-Mega-Punch**

 **Chapter 3: A Lost Boy**

* * *

 **4/11/16**

 **Well it's been a long time! I'm not going to apologise, a lot has happened and I totally lost confidence in my writing. This was actually finished a few months ago and I hated it. Now I look at it and I don't think it's so bad, or at least it's better than how I remember, so I figured I'd publish it. Hopefully the next chapter doesn't take this long.**

 **12/12/16**

 **Added 2000 words that really should have been in this chapter to start with instead of the next one. Another tough section to write but i'm looking forward to writing what's coming next. Please tell me what you think! love it, hate it, any criticisms on stuff i can improve? Are the reactions and interactions realistic? Do you feel like you understand what's going on? Have I left enough to the imagination?**

 **Your feedback is my life blood so let me know what you think.**

 **Thanks and I hope you e** **njoy it!**

* * *

Link's mind was spinning. A lot had happened in far too little time and his concussion hardly helped. Ahead of him, illuminated in the torchlight, was his fellow escapee Zelda. Link still didn't quite know what to make of her. He knew next to nothing about her. Her clothes told him she was noble-born but the way she acted suggested she was anything but. She was brusque, bossy and sarcastic. Yet Link was following her every command like a dog.

Despite everything, somehow, Link trusted her.

Very quickly the pair made it to the top of the stairs. After warily looking around Zelda signalled for Link to follow her into the light of the castle. Link couldn't help but gasp at the architecture as he surfaced. It reminded him of the stonework of the abbey but somehow even more intricate and spectacular - perhaps it had been built by the same people or around the same time. As he looked around, he realised castle was a loose term, the ornate furnishings and paintings created a more palace like feel. It was like being inside a fairy tale of old. Link sidled up against a wall as Zelda peeked around the corner of a corridor.

Voices enclosed on their position alerting both Link and Zelda immediately, "Alright… it's your turn, listen," Zelda spoke softly coming back from looking around the corner, "There are two guards on their way down here." She looked straight into his eyes intensely. Link could make out the vibrant fibres in her iris. Link gulped visibly, "You know what you have to do right?" Link looked at her confused, "I need you to take them out." She said as if it was obvious.

Link almost shouted in disbelief, but was stopped as her hand covered his mouth roughly stopping him his tracks. His eyes said it all, did she really expect him to fight two fully armed guards alone. "Oy, shush or we'll lose the element of surprise. Don't worry, I'll back you up I have a few tricks up my sleeves. Anyway make sure to only knock them out, we don't want innocent blood on our hands." Link continued to look on in disbelief, he couldn't knock out two fully armoured men without any weapons. He probably couldn't do it even with weapons, these guys were trained to be the guardians of the castle. What if they were both as strong as Ysabel? Link shuddered, more than one Ysabel was a terrifying thought.

"This is it. Wait until they walk past then attack. You ready?" The woman instructed, Link was about to protest but it was too late. "Now!" The guards walked past and the woman pushed Link violently towards them.

Link stumbled clumsily from the unexpected push and attempted to dodge hitting a nearby brazier knocking it off balance. Time froze as the brazier wavered unnervingly threatening to topple over and alert the guards. Link reached out quickly to stop the brazier from clattering to the ground. His fingertips barely brushed the metal stand as the worst happened. With an enormous clang the brazier collided with the ground spraying hot coals across the hall. The guards turned around at the noise to see a young boy in rags grasping at thin air. Link looked at them and smiled stupidly.

"Urm… Hi," Link said with a salute. Sweat beading down his forehead.

An awkward silence filled the corridor only broken by Link's sheepish chuckle.

The silence only persevered.

With a dramatic swing Link pointed behind the guards. "Sweet Hylia! Look a great Fairy!"

The pair didn't fall for it. Link could feel his companion face palming.

"Get him!" One of the guards ordered, the other stepping forward to corner Link.

The guard thrust his spear forward to knock Link down but Link was too fast. Link caught the spear shaft with both hands and pushed back to avoid being knocked over. Once again he was instantly aware of the pain lancing up his body. He knew was in no fit state to be fighting but he hardly had a choice did he. He fought past the pain and began to push back, already worrying about the second guy who was now drawing his sword. Link cursed and gave a quick glance back to the woman he was with who seemed to be in prayerful position. Link was by no means unreligious, like everyone else he believed in the three creation goddesses but he figured there was probably something very wrong with anyone who thinks praying mid-fight is going to help anything.

It seemed he was on his own here so decided to take the fight into his own hands. Link gave a little push on the spear shaft and waited for the reaction, that push back was all he needed. Instantly Link stopped pushing and let the guard fall forward. Link quickly kicked the soldier into the hot coals scattered on the floor whilst pulling the spear out from the soldier's hands.

Steel whistled through the air. Link's sharp ears heard the sword fall on him. Link jumped out the way. Thrusting forward with his weapon he deflected the soldier's sword before it cleaved him in two. Before the soldier could recover Link swung the spear round and cracked it over the man's helmet. Hard. But not hard enough. The spear shattered over the helmet the guard scowled as splinter fell in front of his face now even more pissed off than he was before.

"Duck!" Link heard the order and obeyed, He dropped to the ground and glanced quickly behind him, the woman thrust her hand out commandingly. She began to chant in a language unknown to Link and slowly began to glow. The air around her shifted whipping through her hair and skirt making them flair majestically. Link gasped at what he was witnessing, he had only heard stories but this power felt familiar. Power from within the earth, the wind, the rivers, the sky obeyed this woman. Was this… magic?

With a burst of energy, the woman called out to the elements and shouted the final part of her incantation. A blinding flash of golden light flew from her fingertips striking the soldier ahead of them blasting him back violently into a wall. The man crumpled on impact falling unconscious on the floor.

Zelda grinned satisfied by her work, Link however had no time to be impressed the other soldier was now up and had drawn his own sword ready to strike at Zelda. Knowing his spear was going to do nothing Link charged at the soldier tackling him into the wall and grabbing his sword arm. Link bashed the weaponised arm against the wall in a frantic attempt to disarm the soldier. His armour protected him however making the attempt futile. The soldier began to push back against Link. Link grimaced in pain, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

A swift punch to the stomach caused Link to buckle, a kick sent him sprawling. The soldier walked up to Link menacingly. His eyes were covered but Link could see the sadistic grin plastered on his face as he raised his blade. Link rolled out of the way towards the unconscious guard. Fortunately, the guard had dropped his weapon when he hit the wall. Link reached for the sword and held it above his- Clang! Link felt the vibrations run up his arm as metal struck metal. The standing guard was able to recover quicker and attack again. Link held up his blade in desperation. With his arm jarred his grip was weak. He could feel it. He wouldn't be able to defend this blow. The guard swung down at Link. His eyes closed as he tensed his body.

Clang!

A heavy blast of air hit Link as he opened his eyes. Above the boy stood his saviour. A shining sword in her hand, she was glowing with power. Two swords grinded against each other as the guard tried to overpower the woman in front of him. With a powerful swipe he was blasted away giving the woman all the room she needed to finish this. With a powerful kick she caught up to the man and brought the flat of her blade down on his head.

With a dull thunk, the guard fell and the battle was over.

With a victorious smirk Zelda dispelled her obviously magical sword. Link stared up at her. His face showed a mix of emotions, awe, confusion, fear. Zelda looked back at him her face showing one emotion. Anger.

Walking up to the boy on the floor she swiftly karate chopped him painfully on the head.

"Hey! What was that for!" Link complained clutching his now throbbing head

"You were bloody useless!" She yelled. "I knocked out both of those guards and I have barely any combat experience, you're the one who's meant to be the muscle here! I should have known those muscles were just for show. Did you just grow them to impress some foolish maiden? Or are they actually worth a damn?"

Link's face changed dramatically matching her fury. "Well excuse me Princess!" He snapped harshly, she flinched, "As you can see I'm hardly at my best." He gestured to his broken body. "Besides I'm hardly experienced either and I'm obviously not lucky enough to be able to shoot sunlight out my fingers or summon a damned magic sword out of thin air. Not to mention the fact I wasn't even armed! Maybe if you hadn't thrown me defenceless at two guards I would have done better!" he yelled angrily.

Zelda's eyes narrowed, she glared at him in furious silence. Link could see the murderous intent heavily blanketing her.

And then it was gone.

For that brief moment Link could hardly tell what was going through the woman's mind, he could see her mind working but was clueless on the subject.

"Whatever," she stated in frustration, "you're armed now aren't you," gesturing to the sword in his hand, "I expect more next time,"

Link flashed her an annoyed look, he was still injured wasn't he, who was this woman?

"Tch," she spat out looking around, "Thanks to you we've probably alerted every guard in the Din-damned castle. We should get moving."

Link's angry eyes bored into the back of her skull as she started walking fiercely down the corridor.

Before leaving Link quickly removed the sheath of one of the men. He didn't want to be carting around a sword without one so quickly threw it over his shoulder and sheathed his stolen sword before catching up with Zelda.

Link followed Zelda from few paces behind and noticed she was giving him less orders this time around. She also seemed to be avoiding guards this time instead of fighting them. Link didn't see why since he was sure she could just blast them away with her magic. Instead they chose to hide from the few guards that crossed their paths. Whenever they hid though Link couldn't help but notice the frustrated scowl on Zelda's face.

He could tell she was observing, calculating, trying to figure out what was going on. Link could tell it was probably best to leave her alone in this. She obviously knew what she was doing, he was obviously just a hindrance to her.

Still, he just wished he knew what was going on. The same turmoil repeated over and over again in his head. Why was the abbey attacked? What happened to Castle town? Could he find help on time? Was everyone he loved even still alive?

He needed answers. He wasn't entirely sure that Zelda would be willing to give him answers. Link looked out from behind the corner seeing a guard, he remembered the empty eyes of the guards that captured him. Perhaps it was better to know what was happening than walk in blind. Even if Zelda knew as much as him, it may help him in the future.

"Zelda," he whispered carefully, hoping she didn't shoot him down. When she didn't answer he continued, "What actually happened here?"

Zelda sighed, her eyes looked distant as she thought back. "Castle town was attacked."

Link at first figured that was obvious, but then again was it? He remembered the distinct lack of damage to the gates, and stalls on the south road. Where was the attacking army? Who could attack Hyrule, a land in the sky? "By who though? Where is the army?"

"There wasn't one, truth is I don't know what happened. The king left with over half the Hylian army to investigate what he thought was a pirate rebellion. Regular reports soon stopped arriving and the day after a strange woman covered in animal furs walked into Hyrule castle unopposed and took the throne. She slaughtered everyone who opposed her including the royal guard. I couldn't do anything, I was knocked unconscious and woke up in a cell. I have no idea what's happened since or how long it has been since then. I don't know who attacked or why… I don't think want to know."

The pair stayed silent as two guards past, once the footsteps died Zelda spoke again.

"Alright let's go, behind that statue there is a secret passage it will take us to the throne room."

That confirmed it, whoever he was with was obviously a lady of the castle. Obviously someone important if she was in the throne room at the time of the invasion. Still the uncertainty behind the invasion didn't do anything to comfort Link as he followed her into a cramped hidden passage.

They followed the passage in silence for a good amount of time before Zelda stopped and turned to the wall. She tapped the wall as if checking something then went on to pull a small brick out of the wall. A dim light filled the passage as a bridge between the throne room and them was formed.

Zelda pressed her eye to the hole and began to look in the throne room. Link leaned forward hoping to get a look but was batted away by his companion as she refused to let him see.

"Shush! Something's going on," she ordered.

Link resorted to closing his eyes and trying to listen in on whatever was going on down there.

"…the body down by the throne." He heard a feminine voice call out. "He will be here soon!"

Link couldn't make out the response clearly but to him it sounded like a series of low growls.

"Impa," he heard Zelda whisper, he looked over to her. She was shaking, her fists clenched so tightly her nails were threatening to draw blood.

Link tried to listen again, indistinguishable sounds came from within the chamber.

He heard the word 'hurry' before all suddenly went silent. Link heard only the wind. It was not from within the throne room. Zelda looked to the ceiling in shock hearing the winds outside too. The winds continued to pick up and started to howl. The castle stood firm but Link could feel it. A creeping chill was taking over the castle. Link noticed his breath form a mist in front of him, the winds around the castle now rattled the walls and the windows. There must be a hurricane for it to be creating this much noise…

Silence.

SMASH!

Darkness.

Zelda gasped and rushed to look through the hole in the wall. Wind blasted its way into the throne chamber extinguishing the torches, pushing through even into the secret passage before it all seemed to flow back into the throne room.

Silence.

A shuffle and then a long, heavy breath.

Then clear as crystal. "Thank you, Beathach. Now…"

Zelda's breath hitched as a hand came to her mouth. There was a shattering crack behind them before they fell. Link fell backwards out of the passage. The grey stone walls of the throne room flashed in front of him as he plummeted towards the floor. His head whipped forward as a blast of wind struck him from behind halting his descent before violently dropping him the final foot of his descent. The air flew from his lungs as he hit the ground, bricks and mortar landing around him.

Link gasped to draw the air back in his entire body. Pain exploded throughout his entire body as he choked on dry air.

He heard Zelda pull herself to her feet immediately.

"It seems we have some unwelcome guests," Link body jerked in discomfort. The voice chilled him to his very bones it was deep and powerful yet distant and unknown. He had heard the voice before. The guards that had captured him. With the blank eyes, they spoke in the same way. A disembodied voice with no emotion coming from the mouths of empty people.

In panic Link turned to see Zelda stride forward with a strong sense of purpose. The first thing Link noticed was her new poise. The grace with which she walked, the respect she commanded, the confidence she had as she approached the other two people in the room.

Link looked beyond her towards them, just looking at them made him cease up in fear.

Link looked to horrors she was facing the first figure was tall yet it stood subserviently behind the other. A nine-foot giant cloaked in so many animal furs it hid the entirety of her legs and arms. If that wasn't intimidating enough the figure bore a giant stag skull instead of a head. It was an insane feral monstrosity. Link felt like she was going to rip them to shreds at the first opportunity.

The second of the figures was truly more terrifying, tall and lithe, with an ambiguous face framed by white hair, a single braid hung low over empty black eyes. The figure's clothes were unlike any he had seen before, a mixture of bandages and lilac armour designed for ease of movement and speed. A horrifying aura surrounded it making Link cower in despair before it. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural. If the giant was going to rip them pieces this one was going to devour their soul like a light snack leaving them a lifeless corpse to be violated by its will.

"Beathach, perhaps a more potent seal should have been placed on our little prisoner. After all we can't let our little prize get into trouble can we." The more fearsome figure spoke.

Zelda continued to storm towards the first figure coming right up to its face. Black soulless eyes met hers as the figure stared deep into her.

Barely making a sound Zelda spoke, "Who are you? And what have you done to her?"

The figure smirked and leaned over Zelda menacingly. "It's far too late child, your bodyguard is dead," the figure paused turning his back to her, "Her body is an adequate vessel... for now, I promise I'll take good care of her for you." The possessed body looked back, a horrifying perverse grin on its face.

"Get out of Impa," Zelda cursed before she screeched murderously and threw a punch at her possessed body guard. The fist hit nothing as the possessed body stepped out of the way. With a sickening squelch a dark knife was inserted into the middle of Zelda's chest.

Link yelled reaching out as she watched Zelda's body fall into the monster's arms. Blood oozed out of the wound, scarring her dress red and pooling to the floor. the monster raised a finger, and slowly brought it down on Link's companions forehead chanting softly.

Link had to leave, he had to run and never come back never come close to this freakish nightmare again. What was even going on here? This place was like a horror story, empty streets, possessed monsters, giants, pain, blood, tears, fear, death.

Instinct took over, he had to help her. This woman he had barely known an hour, he had to save Zelda.

With a mangled cry he ran forward drawing his blade and slicing at the monster that had stabbed his friend. The monster with a savage grin, dodged dropping Zelda. Link jumped in the way of her descent catching her as she fell and bolted for the door.

Behind him, the possessed body of Impa smirked greedily. "Beathach, I'm retiring, I'll leave you to tie up the loose ends. End the boy. The princess is already gone."

The possessed body of Impa knelt down to the body of the princess, picking it up. It was time to begin.

Meanwhile the giant stalked out of the throne room after her quarry

(…)

Link launched his way through the closest door in the throne room. In one arm he roughly clutched the body of Zelda as best he could, in the other the blade he had stolen. Fear fuelled adrenaline pulsed through him. His head throbbed as he struggled to keep his thoughts straight. He tensed refusing to be overcome by the pain in his body. Zelda was not heavy which was a god send as far as he was concerned. He glanced at her as he ran. Her eyes were still open but were looking distantly in shock. He hoped that was a good sign.

 _Hang in there,_ He begged. He was only answered by a rasping breath.

Link ran down the corridor. He had to find a way out and fast. Once they were in the city they could hide and maybe cover Zelda's wound. A bell began to toll around them, not a good sign. Link flew round the corner to face a small squadron of oncoming guards. He cursed and forced himself to turn back. He quickly made it close to his new destination when his heart stopped in fear.

Dreaded howls echoed throughout the castle.

Time seemed to still as he heard the heavy breaths and angry snarls of the new threat.

Link could almost feel the heavy footfalls of the enormous beasts prowled out of the throne room. Wolf-like monsters eyed up their prey with hungry glowing eyes. Link gripped his sword tighter as he heard the guards close in behind him.

He didn't hesitate to take his out and shot up a staircase to his right, bounding up them three at a time. With angry snarls the monsters began their chase barking rabidly as they raced to the bottom of the stairs.

Link looked ahead, the top of the stairs was in sight. The pursuers were closing in fast… too fast.

"Turn!" Zelda shrieked, suddenly conscious as jaws hurtled towards them. Link, spurred on by the sudden cry, spun round and sliced at the beast. The blade ran smoothly through the flesh of the monster and with a whimper it fell back and knocked itself into the monsters behind it. Link proceeded to run faster up the stairs. They quickly made it to the top where Link spotted a brazier on the side.

Zelda began to struggle in his grip furiously, "I can run on my bloody own!" she yelled, beginning to get violent.

Link literally threw her forwards in frustration "Run I'll catch up." Link ordered as he pushed her forward. The momentum almost floored her but she soon broke into a surprisingly fast paced sprint for someone who was injured and barely conscious a second ago.

Link turned to the brazier and ignoring the searing heat pushed it onto its side and kicked it down the stairs to impede the progress of the wolves and guards. He then ran to catch up with Zelda as she ran down the corridor. After a sharp turn left they were out on the ramparts of the castle. Link looked up momentarily marvelling at the enormous structure. Eight struts sprouted from the main keep of the castle above eight walls that connected to the surrounding towers and outer walls. From the wall top Link could see the entirety of this side of castle town in front of him, despite it being just before daybreak he found it eerie that there were no lights in the city what so ever.

Link had no time to contemplate any more however. He had to find somewhere to escape. Being on the walls limited his options but he had one idea at least.

"The moat!" he called to Zelda hoping she'd understand.

"Are you crazy!" she yelled back but headed in that direction anyway.

Link scoffed it may be crazy but it wasn't as if they had many options.

Link's eyes sharpened as he saw two guards charging towards them from the gate-tower ahead, no doubt there would be archers after them as well. Having no time to contemplate the risks Link launched himself ahead of Zelda and exploded into combat jumping at the sword soldiers with his blade raised. The clang of metal on metal was overpowering, Link broke the first soldiers defence and went on to shoulder barge him off the wall into a hedge below. Giving Zelda enough room to run past. A second blade was narrowly avoided. It sailed past Link's chest missing by only millimetres. Link attacked. The blow was blocked. This soldier knew what he was doing. Link pressed his attack forcing the soldier back. He could hear the snarl of the approaching beasts. Link prayed his timing was on point as he bent low and prepared himself.

Link span for only a second with such velocity it threw both the guard and the approaching beast back. Red blood dripped from the beast's torso. The soldier had managed to defend so was only forced back still Link used that single moment to his advantage and forced himself on the soldier knocking him to the floor.

Link did not spare him a moment more and joined Zelda in running towards the tower beyond. Link could hear their pursuers but in the moment was struggling to gauge their distance right now he was focused on the archers ahead. Was it possible to deflect those arrows? Link had no idea but he had to try the bows were pointed at him. Link suddenly realised although they were aiming at him Zelda was in the line of fire. Link lunged forward in order to defend her but it was all too late.

The disturbing twang of the bows bounced off the castle walls as Link yelled in order to defend his companion. She stopped and turning to face him in panic. Arrows soared right into the back of her head… then continued out the front to strike Link.

Blinding pain caused Link to stumble as the arrow embedded itself into his arm forcing itself out of the other side. The second arrow missed grazing Link's cheek. Link's breath hitched… he was struggling to blink past the pain now… there was just so much. He couldn't handle it. The seeds had been sown… he couldn't do this for much longer. He just wanted the pain to…

"We don't have time to stop now get in the fucking tower!" could barely make out Zelda's yell and was surprised when he was roughly grabbed and thrown back into action. Link literally fell into the tower dropping his sword on the way to the stone floor. Zelda followed and immediately slammed the door and barred it. Immediately bashes came from the other side of the door.

"Hylia Damn it! We're almost out you are _not_ bailing on me now!" Zelda ordered looking down on him.

Link forced himself up and fell against the wall in pain assessing his right arm, the arrow lay deep inside his arm and it hurt like hell. Blood trickled from the wound adding to the mud, bruises and dried blood that already coated it. No doubt he would not be able to use it for quite some time. He snapped off the savage point that was covered in his blood but left the rest of the shaft in. He would have to pull it out later. There were more pressing matters currently. Link's savage eyes looked up at his companion. Thousands of question plagued his mind.

How was she standing? She'd been stabbed through the chest, the blood covering her dress showed it should have been a fatal wound. The arrow that had soared through her head was now mostly embedded in his arm with her being totally unscathed. What the hell was with this woman?

Link forced these thoughts away trying to overcome the fury he was feeling.

"Where do we go from here?" Link asked through gritted teeth as Zelda walked to the other door.

"As you said, our only option is the moat, although we risk being peppered with arrows if we do that." Zelda announced she peered out an arrow-slit down at the drawbridge into the castle.

"A horse?" Zelda suddenly said.

Link looked up hope beginning to fill his eyes. "A chestnut mare? White hooves?" Link asked.

"Yes, how did y-,"

"Epona." Link said with relief,

"Don't tell me she's yours!" Zelda announced in disbelief.

"C'mon, once we're on her we're out of here!" Link explained pulling himself up and picking up his sword.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Zelda shouted in frustration.

"We're gonna break out of this hell hole," Link yelled and mustering up the last of his strength he threw the next door open and jumped back out onto the ramparts.

Zelda followed, they were in the open now, the archers were already taking aim. Link ran forward to stop the archers ahead of them. His strikes were clumsy and lax but through sheer will more than anything he took them down. It wasn't going to be enough. Zelda looked around, there were archers on the surrounding walls and down in the courtyard. They were going to be nothing but pincushions in a matter of time.

A hand grasped her own and pulled her to the side of the wall.

"We're jumping! Don't worry, Epona will catch us!" Link shouted jumping onto the crenulations his blade now sheathed. Zelda stepped up as well looking over the edge of the wall. This was madness if this boy thought they could jump from the ramparts unharmed, he was either a fool or had nothing left to lose. She glanced to the side and looked in the boy's eyes. She was surprised at what she saw. Fear, unbridled fear. The fear an animal felt when they were cornered and had no other options. She was wrong about the boy. He was not a fool nor suicidal. He was desperate.

An arrow soared past.

They were out of time.

She tightened her grip on the boy's hand.

They jumped.

…

It was like magic; Link fell some small way before he was caught by something. Link looked up in surprise to his hand as it stretched skyward still holding on to the beautiful woman now suspended in the air above him. The same look of confusion was clear on Zelda's face. The pair simply stared into each other's eyes as they floated in mid-air in front of the gates of Hyrule castle. Zelda didn't even feel the arrows fly through her body as she hung there. They flew through leaving no marks, as if they were never there to begin with.

Link loosened his grip on Zelda's hand she began to let go as well. Link descended gently down onto Epona's back as Zelda continued to float above him. Arrows began to fly down at them and causing Epona to angrily rear back breaking the moment as she charged into a gallop.

Link gripped onto Zelda's hand again afraid of leaving her behind. Her hand was freezing… ice cold. He had not noticed earlier. As Epona galloped on, Zelda floated behind them anchored to them only by Link's gentle touch.

The howls of monsters brought Link back to reality. He pulled the floating form of Zelda towards him and the horse.

"Hold on," He said in almost a distant whisper. Zelda had no choice but to comply wrapping her arms around Link's chest. Link shivered at the cold sensation and silently turned to grab the reins of Epona.

Epona picked up her pace, flying through Castle Town as fast as her legs would allow. Link forced himself to clear his mind and focus on one thing. Getting as far away from this place as possible.

The hunt had begun.


End file.
